


Dean Winchester and the Guardian Angel

by angelofthepie



Series: Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: A few angsty moments, ALL THE FLUFF, Adorable Castiel too (he can be both), Also Team Free Will Bonding, And did I mention Destiel cuteness?, Any warnings will be posted before the chapter, BAMF Castiel, Basically everyone is in it, Basically just so much fluff, But they make way for more fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dean Being an Asshole, Did I mention hurt/comfort?, F/F, F/M, Hogwarts AU, I guess the last few chapters could be Sabriel if you squint, Implied sexual activity (but only when they're older...), Lots of Winchester brotherly love, M/M, Only main characters mentioned above, Prank Wars, Sam and Gabriel are best friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-14 19:08:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1277590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofthepie/pseuds/angelofthepie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At first, it appears to be a coincidence that Castiel turns up in the last carriage of the Hogwarts Express just in time to save Dean Winchester's life. But as the Winchester brothers, Cas and Gabriel discover while they spend their teenage years at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, some things are just meant to be. Destiel Hogwarts AU, covering all the key moments of Team Free Wills' schooling: from the Yule Ball, Potions class with Professor Crowley and lazy days by the lake, to a showdown with Lucifer Milton - Cas' older brother and Azkaban's most wanted prisoner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the prologue. Enjoy! Scenes of physical violence, but no worse than canon in the show.  
> Supernatural is not mine, and neither is Harry Potter. Setting of Hogwarts and characters of Supernatural all belong to their creators.

Kick. A burst of pain sped through Dean's body, almost making him whimper. He closed his mouth defiantly. One thing he was not going to do was give his assailants the pleasure of hearing him cry.

"Not so self-assured now, are you Grasshopper?" Alastair jabbed his foot into his side. Another sharp kick. "You worthless piece of first year crap."

Dean Winchester never expected his first day of high school to go like this. He had anticipated a little homesickness, since at home he was used to spending every waking moment with Sam and Mary, playing games and baking pies in the kitchen. He had been scared of not making friends at Hogwarts, and of hating the school food, and of scary professors who gave weird punishments for not completing the set homework. What he hadn't even considered was getting beaten up by a scary-ass bunch of sixteen year olds before he even got off the train.

"No witty comeback, Losechester?" Alastair continued, his bloodied face breaking into a smile. Dean felt a small burst of satisfaction as he caught sight of a streak of scarlet blood on the other boy's front tooth. As he was attacked and dragged into the final carriage of the Hogwarts Express, he had fought back and managed to dig a fingernail into Alastair's gum, making it bleed. However, that was before he was overpowered by the douchebag's friends. Brady and Azrael (What the hell? Who calls their son Azrael?) both had the advantages of age and muscle over Dean, and after the first few punches from Alastair, he was unable to move.

"Go back to hell." Dean managed to spit out from his swollen mouth. He desperately took yet another look around the darkened carriage, searching for the dark shape of his new wand, but it was nowhere to be seen.

It wouldn't have done much good anyway. Although his parents both had the ability to do magic, they barely used their wands at home, preferring to give Dean and Sam a normal childhood, and he could barely manage "Expelliarmus" on a good day. The only effect that magic really had on their lives was John's job as an Auror. Dean thought that his dad's job: to hunt down dark witches and wizards, was the coolest, and he had been looking forward to going to school with other magical kids at Hogwarts so that he might be able to follow in his dad's footsteps someday. So much for that now he thought, writhing in pain as Alastair raised his wand. It looked like he wouldn't be getting to Hogwarts. Ever.

"Pay attention boys," he motioned to his friends, enjoying the power that came with bullying a defenceless child. "I learnt this curse from my dad. Apparently they call it unforgivable."

"Get away from him!" A deep voice filled the carriage until it rattled. Dean craned his neck around, but all he could see of his rescuer in the doorway was an imposing shadow.

"What are you gonna' do, short stuff?" Alastair taunted, and Dean realised that the boy in the doorway was only that, a boy. He looked even shorter than Dean, although his face was still obscured by darkness.

"Leave. Him. Alone." The boy enunciated, threat dripping from his words. Alastair swaggered over to the doorway, his two cronies in tow. Dean bit his lip and waited for the inevitable screams. Instead, he watched with disbelief as the boy raised his wand and stepped forward menacingly until he was almost touching Alastair's face.

"Close your eyes!" The words boomed through the darkness, and Dean immediately obeyed. A second later, a burst of bright white light shot through the carriage, making the whole train rattle and groan. The sound of Alastair's body hitting the floor was a sound he would remember for the rest of his life. Silence followed.

"Are you okay?" Dean heard a hoarse voice say, and he opened his eyes cautiously. But his head was still swimming, and before he could process his rescuer's face, pain which had been held back from being processed in his brain suddenly overwhelmed him and he blacked out. The last thing that Dean saw before he lost consciousness was a dark silhouette bending over him, the light from a wand creating a halo effect around the boy's small head.

 

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Dean sat up and immediately regretted doing so. His whole body ached, especially at the joints, and his face felt swollen and puffy. Feeling glad that his mother wasn't there to have a heart attack upon seeing the state of his face, he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a hospital bed inside a small room. Uncomfortable looking beds lined the walls and similarly hard chairs were dotted around. None of the other beds were occupied, presumably since none of the other students had managed to get themselves badly injured on the very first day of term. A small sigh coming from a chair on the other side of his bed suddenly alerted Dean to the presence of somebody else. He rolled over, since twisting his neck still hurt, and came face to face with the boy from the train. He was curled up on the chair like a kitten, his small legs tucked up under his body. His hair was unkempt, his yellow striped tie was backwards and he had shadows under his eyes. Far from looking like a badass hero, he looked- Well, he looked adorable.

Dean's caring personality, which had impressed every teacher from his elementary school, made him want to take this boy home with him until his mouth curved up at the sides instead of down, the bags were smoothed out from under his eyes and he looked less dangerously thin. He was starting to doubt that this particular kid could have single-handedly fought off three teenagers with a flick of his wand, when he noticed the boy's eyelids start to flutter.

"Uh, hi." Dean said, struck momentarily speechless by the sight of two bright blue eyes staring at him, like those of a spooked wild animal.

"You're awake," the other boy replied, sounding shocked. "The nurse said you were going to be unconscious for days."

"Were you planning on staying here all that time to see me?" Dean asked, and the boy blushed. If his voice wasn't so recognisably deep and innately soothing, Dean would have bet his life that his new friend was incapable of swatting a fly, let alone the scene of complete badassery that had taken place on the train.

"My dormitory was crowded." His blush deepened, and Dean wondered why the boy wasn't getting a hero's welcome in whatever house he had been sorted into. "And... one of my brothers is waiting there for me. My family is disappointed with the house that I have been placed in." Obviously embarrassed at his inability to answer Dean properly, he hid his face behind his robe and quietly said: "I can leave now, if you want. You must be tired."

"No, please stay." Dean replied, "You saved my life, man. I owe you-"

Unfortunately, his throat chose this time to close up, and the most horrific coughing fit coursed through his whole body. Slowly, he became aware of a gentle hand on his back and a glass of water floating by his face. He took a sip and several deep breaths, wondering which higher power had decided to send him a miracle.

"Try not to talk," the boy soothed, rubbing circles onto Dean's back. "The nurses said that Alastair damaged a lot of your internal infrastructure, and even magical healing is going to take a while to have an effect on you."

"But how did you know I was in trouble?" Dean managed, his breaths still rasping and short. "You got there just before they-"

"I was sitting in a carriage with another first year, I think his name was Chuck," the boy replied.

Dean understood that he was referring to the unofficial rejects carriage of the train by the way that his new friend looked anxiously at him while revealing the information. "Chuck said he'd had a vision of somebody lying on the floor covered in blood at the back of the train. He also said that he was a psychic, but I wasn't sure if he was joking. I'm not very good at sarcasm." He laughed nervously, blue eyes turned to the floor. "I'm not very good at talking to people either. I understand if you want me to-"

"Sit back down." Dean ordered, his breathing just about back to normal. "You're not going anywhere. At least not until you tell me how you did that light spell on the train - that was the coolest thing I've ever seen. Like, ever."

The faint smile appearing on the boy's pale pink lips reminded Dean of the smile of his favourite character on Dr Sexy MD, his mother's favourite muggle soap opera.

"It was nothing really, my brothers taught me magic from a young age." the reply came quickly and Dean knew without having to be told that family was a touchy subject for him.

"My father is very strict about my education, and I have been home-schooled up to this point."

"At least the spells you learnt came in useful!" Dean reassured him, extending a hand to the boy. "And hey, I'm a first year too. We should stick together. I'm Dean Winchester by the way."

"Castiel Milton." Castiel replied, and Dean grinned at how well the name suited him. They shook hands formally. Dean would have scorned the gesture as adult and boring if anyone else had tried to shake his hand, but with Castiel, it felt right somehow.

"Can I call you Cas?" Dean asked suddenly, "If we're going to be friends. Do you want to be friends?"

Castiel smiled properly this time, and it reminded Dean of the time the Sam had bought a whole jar of glow worms into the kitchen as a toddler and accidentally tipped them onto the floor. Their whole family had spent most of the evening trying to find all of the escaped creatures, but eventually gave up. Then, when it was dark and Sam was safely tucked up in bed, Mary had taken Dean back to the kitchen, where it was easy to spot the little worms. They were glowing like miniature candles and had made their way to the most unexpected of places. Cas' smile reminded Dean of opening a kitchen cupboard when he was four-years-old and finding a multitude of yellow stars squirming around inside. It was both unexpected and beautiful, like finding a little microcosm of the universe inside a saucepan.

"I'd very much like to be your friend." Castiel replied, their hands still clasped together in the near darkness of the Hospital wing. They stayed like that for a few minutes, but when Dean gave a slow yawn, Cas released his hand immediately, and gently pushed him backwards into the mattress. "You should rest now."

"Are you going back to your dormitory?" Dean asked, steeling himself for a night alone in the eerie room. "You should get some sleep too."

"There are free beds here," Cas replied, gesturing to the one next to Dean's. "I could stay, if you wouldn't mind. Gabriel told me that Uriel and Raphael are still looking for me."

"How many brothers do you have?" Dean asked sleepily, watching Cas take off his black robe and tie and jump into the bed next to his.

"Only four." Castiel said, taking a deep breath. "They are all named after archangels: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. Michael is actually a Professor here. Uriel, Balthazar, Inias, Anna and the others are my cousins."

"Anna got away lightly," Dean whistled, chuckling softy, "Lucifer, for real? Poor guy, he must get treated like a psychopath wherever he goes."

"Actually he's locked up in Azkaban." Cas replied, wincing. "We don't talk about Lucifer. And Anna is short for Anael. My mother had a doctorate in angelology."

"I'm named after my grandmother." Dean said, wondering why he was telling Cas this since he had always tried to hide this embarrassing fact from everyone he met. "Her name was Deanna. Sammy got the cool name. He's my little brother."

He paused there, feeling a sudden pang of homesickness. He wouldn't get to see Sammy tomorrow, or his mom. He was used to missing John, who spent a lot of time away due to his work, but how was he going to cope with months away from Sam and Mary? And how were they going to cope without him? Castiel seemed to have some kind of sixth sense, because a hand snaked out of the bed beside him, tapping his shoulder. Dean took the proffered hand, wiping the tears from his face with the blankets on his bed.

"Thanks Cas." He said, meaning it. At least he knew that he wouldn't be spending the next year friendless and alone. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing.

"Don't be scared Dean." Castiel said, sleep weighing heavy on his voice. "I will watch over you."

After that, sleep came easily.


	2. Prologue Part 2

Dean woke up the next morning with his wounds completely healed. He brought his hands to his face and found only smooth skin, letting out a loud celebratory whoop. He sat up quickly and glanced over at the bed next to him, where Cas was still sleeping. He looked calm and relaxed, and Dean thought that he should probably leave his friend alone since it was so early in the morning. He laid back down. He fiddled with his pillowcase. He rolled over. Then he leapt out of his hospital bed and bounced over to Castiel.

"Hey Cas," he said, bending over his friend's sleeping form and whispering in his ear. It felt like they had known each other for more than just one evening. "Guess what?"

"Dean?" Castiel asked, running a hand through his hair. He looked like he had just suffered an electric shock.

"We're at Hogwarts!" Dean yelled, jumping up and down on the bed. After a moments hesitation and a confused head tilt, Cas joined him.

They used the bed as a trampoline until a woman with a name badge saying "Naomi" and a murderous expression stormed into the room. "What exactly is going on?" she asked. Dean and Cas stopped mid bounce. "I assume that you are Dean Winchester, and you are the student reported missing from your dormitory last night."

Castiel looked ashamedly down at his feet.

"He was helping me." Dean said, jumping to his friend's rescue. "I asked him to stay here."

"I will overlook this offense since it is the first day of term," the nurse said sternly. "However, you are already late for breakfast in the Great Hall. I will show you the way there myself." Dean and Cas got up to follow the woman out, but she stopped them. "Not you, Mr Winchester. You are to wait here for your sorting. A Professor will be here shortly with the hat."

"Goodbye Dean." Castiel stared across the room at him as though trying to memorise Dean's face.

"I'll find you when I get out of here. I'll look for you in the Great Hall." Dean waved to Cas and laid back on his bed. By the time he realised that he had never thought to ask the other boy what house he was in, it was already too late. Bored after only a few seconds, he started playing with his new wand. Red sparks came out of it every time he waved it in a certain way, and he found that he could move the chairs standing next to the beds with just a little flick. Soon, chairs were skidding across the room and the furniture was dancing as if the Hospital Wing was a setting from one of Sammy's Disney movies. Suddenly, a large man entered the room and tripped over one of the flying chairs.

"Holy mother of... Dean Winchester?" A familiar voice came from the other side of the room, making Dean jump.

"Rufus?", he asked hesitantly. "You're Professor Turner?"

"If it isn't John Winchester's boy," Rufus Turner murmured to himself. Dean was surprised that the man still recognised him. As a colleague of his father, Rufus had visited the Winchester household many times in the past. He hadn't been seen in a few years though, and Dean had surmised that he and John had had some kind of falling out. Even though his father was a great role model in many ways, Dean had to admit that John Winchester had an extraordinary talent for alienating people.

"In trouble on your first day at school?" Dean was about to protest, but relaxed when he saw a twinkle in the Professor's eye, "I see you're taking after your daddy."

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked, "I thought you were an Auror."

"Ancient history," Rufus dismissed, waving his hand. "Bobby and I retired after a hunt went bad, and got recruited by this place a few years later."

"Bobby's here?" Dean asked, a smile breaking out over his small face. Bobby had not just been a colleague to John, he was like an uncle to both of the boys. That was before he disappeared too, presumably after the same hunt that had made Rufus change his career. "Dad never told me where you went. What happened?"

"Enough with the questions." A shadow crossed Rufus' face for just a moment, before the man shook his head as if to clear his mind. "I've got a appointment with a bottle of fire whiskey and I would hate to miss it." He took out an patchy witches hat from a nearby bed and dropped it unceremoniously onto Dean's head.

"I hope you don't expect me to wear this all day." Dean said uncertainly, pushing the brim up so that he could see out of the black fabric.

"Hello, another first year!" The gleeful voice came from the hat on Dean's head, and he looked up in surprise. "What's your name, young sir?"

"Yes," Rufus said in a bored voice, "The hat talks. Just try not to engage with it too much. It gets chatty on week-ends."

"My name is Dean Winchester."

"And why did you miss the ceremony yesterday?" The hat sounded personally insulted that Dean missed the sorting .

"I was attacked. On the train."

"You missed a good sorting." The hat paused for a while, remembering: "Somebody called Benny cried when he got put into Slytherin, Professor Singer was drunk the whole time and Pamela Barnes in seventh year caught on fire."

"Oh," Dean said, not knowing how he was supposed to respond to that.

"So, what's your favourite food?"

"Uh, does that make any difference to my sorting?"

"No, I'm just making conversation. Unless you like to eat the organs of first born children, in which case you're going to Slytherin."

"I like pie." Dean licked his lips unconsciously. "My mom makes the best pies ever."

"Could we hurry this up?" Professor Turner broke in, rolling his eyes. "I'm supposed to be having a meeting right now."

"Fine. Whatever." The hat made a sassy noise that sounded like a sigh. "Do you have any preference about houses?"

"I don't want to be in Slytherin."

"Did I put you off with the cannibalism thing? I was joking, most of the students in Slytherin are perfectly nice."

"Yeah, but I'd rather be in one of the others." Dean thought for a moment. "Gryffindor sounds cool."

"Hmm, Gryffindor, eh? No, I don't think so. You have courage, but I can see that you like to think before you act. Ravenclaw? You're cleverer than you give yourself credit for, but I think you'd prefer... Yes, the house of loyalty and hard work."

Dean waited for a definitive answer, tapping his foot.

"Okay, that is it!" Professor Turner exclaimed, raising his hands to the heavens. "Back to the cupboard with you."

"You're in Hufflepuff, kid," the hat said, and was subsequently wrenched off Dean's head by Professor Turner.

"One word is all it takes to tell someone their house." The Professor muttered to the hat in his hand, and the pair of them left, bickering fiercely. Dean sat back on a stack of pillows, and hoped that Cas was in the loyalty house too.

"Are you Dean?" A voice came from the doorway just as the sound of Professor Turner's footsteps petered away. "We've come to take you down to the great hall, for breakfast."

Dean watched as two boys, both of whom looked a couple of years older than him, made their way across the room. One was carrying a dirty sock puppet, but apart from that, they looked friendly and welcoming. "Most of the food's gone, but there might be a few waffles left if we're lucky! I'm Aaron, and this is Garth," the shorter boy said, smiling. "We're in Hufflepuff, your new house."

"Nice to meet you." Dean followed them off the bed and out of the Hospital Wing. Outside, the school was enormous and he could already see himself getting hopelessly lost on the way to every lesson. When the group finally arrived at the Great Hall, it was mostly empty. Aaron led the way to one of the tables on the right, populated by a couple of older students wearing yellow and black.

Dean walked over to the freakishly long table and sat down. In front of him was an unappetising plate of cold looking toast, and Castiel was nowhere to be seen. Just as Dean was resigning himself to a morning of pre-eaten food and the prospect of making a new friend from his own house as awesome as Cas, he felt something dig into his shoulder.

"Hello Dean!"

He spun around and found Castiel standing beside the table with a huge pile of plates. "I went to get some warm food for you. Gabriel told me that the house elves would be happy to serve us a special breakfast." Cas explained. "I didn't know what your favourite breakfast food was, so I sort of got everything."

"Pie!" Dean exclaimed, seizing the top layer of plates and laying them out. "Thanks Cas, this is awesome, but aren't you missing lessons?"

"I'm hoping the Potions teacher will give me the work so I can catch up later." Cas said, looking slightly guilty.

"Professor Crowley?" Aaron asked with a knowing smile. "Yeah, good luck with that." Castiel bit his lip, but sat down anyway.

"Are you in Hufflepuff too?" Dean asked, nervously awaiting an answer.

"Yes." Cas replied, with slightly less enthusiasm than Dean had expected. "My father calls it the house of talentless losers. No Milton has been sorted into Hufflepuff in five generations."

"That doesn't make you worse than them," Dean said indignantly, offended at both the insult to his friend and to his new house. "It just means that you're different."

Garth entered the conversation with some hilarious stories about former Hufflepuff students and soon Castiel was smiling again.

In fact, Dean and Cas enjoyed their first morning at Hogwarts so much that they extended breakfast to third period. Professor Crowley wasn't too happy about that, but nobody cared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of the prologue (I probably should have posted both parts together, but whatever). Next week we get to the real story, beginning with Christmas at Hogwarts!!! Time flies so fast when you have to get through seven years of school in one fanfic...


	3. Chapter 1

It snowed on Christmas Day. Everyone had been wishing for a white Christmas, but nobody had actually expected the weather to come through. Nevertheless, there it was, the castle grounds covered by a thick layer of snow and students breathing thick clouds into the frosty air. At first Dean thought the snow must have been some kind of joke, courtesy of Gabriel or one of those other idiots in Gryffindor, but after seeing the silhouettes of several fifth years already involved in the first snowball fights of the morning, he opened the window to catch snowflakes in his hands. As he did so, the excitement which he had tried to supress during the last few weeks came rushing back.

Dean had been looking forward to Christmas throughout November and December as a chance to see his family again. Every year at Christmas, John Winchester took a week off and spent the time with his sons, teaching them skills like fishing. And on Christmas day, Samuel and Deanna, their grandparents, came over and shared a meal of Mary's homemade roast turkey and famous apple pie. It was Dean's favourite day of the year, and this year it would be especially perfect, since he hadn't seen Sam or his parents since September. However, an owl had arrived on the last day of term, just as Dean and the other boys who were going home were packing up their things. Sam had caught a bad case of highly infectious dragon pox, and the Winchester cottage was under quarantine.

Dean was distraught at the missed opportunity to see everyone back home and had sulked for days until Gabriel had smuggled a mobile phone into the school for him to call Mary and John. After several conversations with his parents and his nine year old little brother, who sounded really ill, he felt a little better about staying at school for the holidays. And at least Cas would be there too. The Milton family all stayed at school for Christmas every year. Dean had questioned Cas about it, and he had replied that their father thought that even a few weeks of summer every year was too long a period of time to spend with his children. Castiel looked upset at the mention of his dad, and Dean resolved not to bring the matter up again.

"God, Dean. What the hell?" Aaron sat up in his bed, which was next to the window, sounding seriously annoyed. A freezing draught was blowing through the dormitory and Dean looked at his watch. It was 6 am. Oops.

"It's snowing guys!" Dean replied, choosing to ignore the tone of his roommate. At once, the hexagonal Hufflepuff dorm room echoed with the cries of excited boys as Garth jumped out of bed like a maniac and ran to the window.

"Cas..." Dean asked gently, making his way to the bed of his best friend. All that was visible above the yellow duvet and blankets was a chaotic mess of dark brown hair. Castiel stirred a little but didn't wake. Dean touched his shoulder gently, and tried not to smile at the flutter of eyelashes as concerned blue eyes peeked open.

"What's the matter?" asked Castiel, rubbing his eyes. A slow smile spread across his face as Dean gestured toward the window.

"It's snowing! But first, presents!" Dean shouted, jumping onto Cas' bed and pumping a fist into the air. Sadly, nobody else shared his enthusiasm. Aaron sighed, pulling his covers firmly back over his head, Garth ran to the huge snowball fight, still wearing his pyjamas, and Castiel's eyes flickered shut.

"Come on Cas, it's no fun opening presents alone." Dean said: "I'll bring them to your bed, but you have to wake up." When no answer was forthcoming, Dean gave up with the verbal persuasion and started a tickle war instead. It wasn't long before Cas surrendered. Triumphant, Dean brought over a huge bag of gifts and poured them onto the bed.

"Look, Cas, Sammy sent me a new wizard chess set, we can play later. Remind me to thank him, my old one broke when Benny stepped on it. What did he give you? A book? Bad luck man."

"Its about some of the greatest wizards of the twentieth century," Cas said, hugging the enormous tome to his chest. "Thank your brother and your parents for me, this is just what I wanted. I still can't believe they sent something for me."

"Nerd." Dean punched him on the shoulder and picked up another present. "Now let's see what you got for me."

He eagerly tore open Cas' immaculately wrapped parcel to reveal a large photo album. Inside were moving photographs of Dean's parents dancing on their wedding day, standing under famous American landmarks from their old home in Kansas and holding him as a baby. As the book went on, hundreds of photos of Sam appeared, Dean remembered taking most of them himself. The pictures documented the whole of his childhood, and right at the back there was a photograph of him with Cas, taken at the end of the previous school year.

"Its for when you get homesick." Cas explained shyly. "I sent your mom a letter asking if she had any photos and she sent me a huge parcel full. I had to borrow Anna's owl to get it here."

"Thank you." Dean said, almost speechless. Cas always seemed to know exactly what he wanted, it was a little spooky. "Here, I got you this. Its not much..."

"Dean, this is beautiful," Cas said in an awestruck voice, watching a miniature dragon crawl out from the tiny package.

"Bobby helped me with it in Charms." Dean looked proudly down at the little creature, which was dark yellow and black. It soon flapped its small wings and launched into the room, flying around like a spiky bumblebee. However, it wasn't long before the Milton family arrived to disturb the peaceful atmosphere.

Gabriel entered first, in a cloud of pink smoke which smelt like burnt toast and sent Cas into fits of coughing.

"Happy birthday Jesus!" He said, bowing his head in mock prayer. "I remember his birth like it was yesterday."

Without any prior warning, he threw a present straight at his younger brother's head. Castiel caught it with an unamused expression on his face.

"This better not be a joke present like last year," he muttered, tearing off the wrapping paper.

"I'm sorry Dean-O," Gabriel continued, unfazed by the glares which he was now receiving from both Cas and Dean. "I didn't get you anything. I think I have a half eaten packet of Skittles left over from my last trip to London somewhere, but I've eaten all the red ones."

"I'm okay thanks." Dean said quickly, shuddering at the thought of fluffy sweets from Gabriel's pocket.

Anna, Uriel and Inias arrived next, carrying armfuls of presents.

"Father sent these for you!" Inias grinned, handing Castiel several large gifts, including one long thin parcel.

"Is that a broomstick?" Dean asked, awestruck. "Open it, Cas!"

Castiel carefully tore off the expensive paper to reveal a sleek broom, golden letters running along one side.

"Woah," Dean gasped, running his fingers reverently along the wood. "This is a Nimbus, Cas. You'll make the Hufflepuff Quidditch team in no time with it."

"Yeah, I agree!" Gabriel chipped in, "What? I can't say something nice to my little bro? Of course you'll make the team Cassie. I mean, have you been to any Hufflepuff matches recently? Your team sucks big time."

"You can use it too." Cas replied, ignoring his older brother in favour of replying to Dean. He looked a little embarrassed by the obvious wealth of his family and their lavish gifts. Dean's stack of presents was now less than half the size of his own.  
"I bet it goes like lightning." Dean said enthusiastically. "We have to try it out on the Quidditch pitch this afternoon."

"I'd love to." Cas replied, disregarding Gabriel's giggling and Anna's cooing.

"Got a date, have we Cassie?" Gabriel asked, grinning widely, "That's cute. But I'm afraid the Quidditch pitch is in use right now. Check it out."

He gestured out of the window, to the enormous snowball fight taking place in the grounds.

"We should go down," Anna suggested, looking hopefully at her family. "I'll be with you, Cas, and Dean too of course. Gabriel, you're on Raphael and Uriels' team."

"Not fair." Gabriel sulked, waving his wand to open the door. "But I'm in. Just for the opportunity to pelt you guys with blocks of ice."

Dean's first Christmas at school wasn't so bad in the end, even though he didn't get to go home.

Because, as he was lying on his back in the snow, cold and tired and elated after a sneak attack of snow from Castiel and Anna, who were teaming up against himself and Gabriel, he still felt like he was surrounded by family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll post the next one soon, its all ready! :)  
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an extra short chapter. There will be another this week, when Dean goes home for the summer holidays and receives a surprise from Mary and John. Thank you for reading!

Silence filled the large room, the occasional scratching of a quill on parchment punctuating an unearthly atmosphere. Most students hated the Hogwarts Library. And sure, it could be a scary place at night, full of candles floating over dusty bookshelves which sometimes moved around when you weren't looking. As well as the existence of rumours about books eating noisy fifth years as punishment for slacking off during their studies. But Castiel didn't care about any of this. The library was still his favourite room in the whole school. He had his own special spot too, a small alcove behind a labyrinth of tall shelving, just warm enough to spend long winter evenings curled up with a good book. It was February, and most of the school felt like the inside of the Milton family pantry.

Cas had only told one person where he spent most of his free time, otherwise it wouldn't be a secret spot. After all, when Michael or Raphael wanted to find you, it was useful to have somewhere safe to hide. In all honesty, he was regretting ever sharing the whereabouts of his hideout. It wasn't that his friend would tell Uriel, Anna or (God forbid) Gabriel, but because ever since he shared his secret, he had found himself with a distraction from reading every single evening of the week. Unfortunately, there were only two things which his best friend was incapable of doing. The first was sitting quietly and the second was-

"Hi Cas!"

Cas jumped, even though he had expected Dean's arrival ever since he sat down. The familiar freckled face popped up over one of the bookshelves, which were about eight foot high.

"How did you get up there?" Castiel asked, amused despite himself. It was impossible to ignore Dean's antics, even though they meant that he had taken four weeks to finish the new novel in Carver Edlund's "Supernatural" series.

"Levitation spell." Dean grinned, floating higher and higher until he could place his feet on the top of the shelves. "Oops. There goes my wand. I'll have to climb down. Move those books off the table, would you Cas?"

"Dean!" Cas yelped, "Be careful! There's no grip there..."

It was too late. Dean grabbed the shelf above him but only managed to dislodge a couple of books. He came hurtling down at light speed, only giving Castiel the best part of five seconds to react.

"IMMOTUS!" Cas yelled, waving his wand upwards in a swishing motion. Dean came to a halt in a sitting position, about five inches above the floor.

"That was awesome!" He grinned, barely batting an eyelid as Cas sat in shock, still hyperventilating. "Thanks for that, Cas!"

"Dean." Castiel growled, standing up. Dean swore under his breath. When Cas got angry, it was usually better to keep away from him. Apparently he had inherited the legendary Milton family temper.

"You almost got yourself killed. Again." Cas said angrily, and Dean stepped back involuntarily. Cas narrowed his eyebrows and stepped closer. "Don't you realize that you are making a habit of almost dying? This is only our first term here, and I can count at least three other occasions where I have only narrowly saved you."

"Yeah, I guess so." Dean giggled. It was strange to think that he had just survived a potentially fatal fall, and the adrenaline rush was coming at him fast.

Cas frowned further, a dangerous look in his dark blue eyes. "Don't you realise what your death would do?", he continued, "To your parents? To that little brother you've told me about?". His voice broke a little. "To me?"

"I'm sorry, Cas." Dean said, a little shocked, and all of the fight seemed to drain out of his friend at once.

"No, I shouldn't have shouted." Cas replied, sitting back down heavily. "I just know what death is like. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you. And if I wasn't here today..."

"Nothing's going to happen," Dean reassured him. "Think about it. It can't be coincidence that every single time I do something stupid (which is pretty damn often), you rescue me."

"What are you saying?" Cas asked, missing his friend's sarcasm. "Heaven has a special plan for you?"

"Maybe you're my guardian angel." Dean suggested, his serious façade breaking down when he saw Cas's incredulous face. "Dude, I was joking. Although, you are pretty angelic. I could totally see you with fluffy white wings and a little golden harp."

"Not funny." Cas couldn't hide the smile spreading across his face. They sat in companionable silence for a minute, both recovering their breath. "Although, you really should try to be a little more sensible. Like avoiding duels with Slytherins."

"Dick had it coming." Dean replied, a little sulkily. "Being mean to Jo just because she's a half-blood." His face lit up. "Anyway, I have a guardian angel. It's impossible for me to die."

"I'm actually going to punch you if you keep calling me that." Cas narrowed his eyes at Dean in a scary way.

"It's true!" Dean said, raising his hands. "I know you'll always be there to save me just in time with your heavenly powers and- Ouch!"

"Told you I'd punch you." Cas replied, smugly. "Anyway, one day you'll probably realise your mistake and leave me to go and hang out with the popular kids. Or you'll get a girlfriend and forget all about me."

"Cas, you know that will never happen." Dean responded, "We're best friends forever. That's what I said in the Hospital Wing, and I meant it."

"Thanks!" Cas said in a small voice. All year he had secretly feared that Dean would drop him as a friend after he realised that the kid who saved him on their first day at Hogwarts was actually a total dork who spent all his time in the library.

"Besides," Dean continued, "If we didn't hang out together, I'd be dead in a few days. Please- No, don't hit me!"

The noises of the tickle fight echoed through the library, and several older students sighed, exchanging glances with their friends. The librarian's face was slowly turning purple as she searched the library for the first years, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the shelves were moving every time she came close to finding the pair. After all, Hogwarts had long been known to have a soft spot for mischievous first years.


	5. Chapter 3

"Sam, come inside," Mary pleaded, looking tenderly down at her son. Sam Winchester was sitting on the doorstep of the cottage and fidgeting with barely contained excitement.

"I can't mom, Dean will be here soon!" Sam replied, searching the rainy garden with a determined look on his small face. Mary smiled in spite of herself. Her little boy growing up would never cease to amaze, and Sam's hero worship of his older brother was just plain adorable. Dean's first year of boarding at school had been hard on both the boys, but now it was summer and everything was back to normal.

"Sammy!" Dean called from across the yard and before Mary could blink, her youngest son sprang into the garden with bare feet, immediately lost in the deluge of rain outside. She could only just make out the silhouette of her two boys in a tight embrace on the grass.

"Mom!" Dean came out of nowhere and cannoned into her: a tropical storm of emotion and wet clothes. Sam and John were close behind and they joined the embrace. The four of them stood in the room for a few minutes, Dean holding firmly onto his family as if it was about to disappear.

"So, tell us everything!" Mary exclaimed, walking to the couch and furtively wiping her teary eyes. 

"What, since my last letter?" Dean asked, bouncing around. "Well, there was the last Quidditch match of the year - we came second to stupid Gryffindor but Rufus says I might get into the team next year if I work really hard!"

"Wow!" Sam whispered in awe. "I can't wait until I start there."

"And what about your lessons? Did you pass your exams?" John asked, ruffling his son's hair.

"They send owls in a few weeks." Dean said in a dismissive way: "But did I tell you about Cas? He's my best friend!" 

"Yes Dean, you wrote about him every week in your letters!" Mary replied with a smile. "I can't wait to meet him." 

"Mary, you've given it away!" John said. Sam and Dean both looked up at their father with awe, and waiting for a reply, "Dean, we've invited your friend to stay this summer." 

"All summer?" Dean practically screamed. "Thanks mom, dad!" 

"Not all summer! For a few weeks, in two weeks time." Mary said. "Now, I'd like to hear more about your year, and I'm sure Sam has things he wants to tell you."

The next two weeks passed quickly for everyone. Sam had already been regaled with stories about the amazing Castiel Milton, so he was almost as excited as his brother when a white limousine pulled up on the driveway.

"Jesus," John muttered under his breath, as a haughty looking man with black hair climbed out of the vehicle. Behind him, two children jumped out of the car, one of them immediately recognizable as Castiel. 

"Hi everyone!" Mary said, walking up to meet them.

"Hello, my name is Michael." He said officially. "I'm Castiel's brother, and Professor of defense against the dark arts at Hogwarts. Dean may have mentioned me." 

He was interrupted by Dean, who sprinted over, knocked into the pristine door of the limousine (leaving a muddy imprint of his back) and launched himself at his friend. From his position over Cas' shoulder, Dean looked suspiciously at the older boy standing next to them. "What's Gabriel doing here?"

"I was about to explain," Michael said stiffly. "I am aware that this would be a huge favor, but Gabriel has nowhere to go this summer, and our father was wondering if you could take him." Seeing John's dubious expression, he continued. "I've told him he must be on his best behaviour, but I understand if you don't want the trouble. We can always send him to military camp."

Gabriel 's usually arrogant façade broke for a moment, and behind it Mary could see a scared and unloved teenager. There was only one answer that she could give.

"Of course you are welcome too, Gabriel." She said gently, gesturing for the boys to come inside. Gabriel's eyes lit up and he mouthed a thank you.

"Excellent." Michael said, smiling slightly. "Boys, I do not need to tell you what is acceptable. Castiel, I trust you to behave and Gabriel, you must not even think of pulling pranks. And no fraternising with families that are not pureblood. I trust that this will not cause any problems to you?" He directed this last sentence at John and Mary with a steely gaze.

John swallowed, exchanging a wide eyed look with his wife, "No, no problem." 

"Au revoir les enfants." Michael said, shaking them briefly by the hand. "See you both after our ski holiday." John and Mary stood in the yard for a while after the monstrous white car had left, a little shocked. 

"What a nice man." John whispered sarcastically to his wife, watching the four boys crowd around in a circle. Dean had dragged Cas through the garden and with a smile Mary noticed that their hands were still attached. Sam was looking at the older boys in awe, clearly happy to be included in the group. The children were inseparable all day, and dinner that night was also successful, Cas and Gabriel both clearing their plates in a matter of minutes. Dean just sat stubbornly moving vegetables around his own bowl. 

"You know I hate carrots." He moaned, as he did every night. 

"They're delicious, mom." Sam told his mother, shovelling broccoli and carrots into his mouth. "Only 'cos Dean probably eats pie all year at his school." 

"Do not." Dean responded indignantly. 

"I hope you eat healthily at school young man." His father said sternly: "Does he, Cas?" 

"Dean does eat a lot of pie..." He smiled shyly as the rest of the table laughed, all except for Dean.

Later that evening, the sleeping bags were put out. After playing various games with Gabriel for the afternoon, Sam was sleeping and cuddling his toy moose. Gabriel was sprawled out on the couch, playing Candy Crush on his mobile. Meanwhile, Cas and Dean were sitting on their mattresses watching a Muggle movie, most of which was going over Cas's head.

"Why do these people keep singing?" Cas asked Dean, tilting his head. "This is a highly unrealistic portrayal of Oklahoma."

Dean remained silent, and Cas realized that his friend had been a bit quiet all afternoon.

"Are you angry with me Dean?" He asked, suddenly panicking. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong." 

"Forget about it, Cas." Dean replied. Castiel recognized this as one of Dean's usual attempts to pretend that everything was normal and avoid talking about his feelings. Every time he was homesick at school, he withdrew into himself, often acting in a violent manner towards students he didn't like and deliberately baiting Alastair. Luckily, Castiel had generally been able to help him recover his good humor.

"Please tell me what I did, Dean," Cas said, sadness creeping into his voice. He was already missing the easy company they shared. Dean was his first true friend, and meant the world to him.

"Okay, Cas," Dean sighed. "I think the conversation about pie annoyed me. I don't want my mom to think I can't do things by myself."

"Oh, and I told her that you ate pie all the time." Cas said. "I'm sorry!"

"I forgive you." Dean replied, "I shouldn't have reacted that way. Everybody must hate me."

"Nobody hates you, Dean." His friend answered truthfully. Building up his friend's self-esteem was becoming a full-time job. "You have learnt to be independent, and it's hard to go back to being ordered around."

"Thanks," said Dean, his green eyes locking with those of his friend. "It's nice to have someone who understands."

Another song began to play on the TV, and Dean remembered Cas's question from earlier: "They're singing because they're dicks."

Later that night, Mary went back in to turn off the TV. Dean and Cas had made some kind of fortress with their blankets and pillows, and they looked comfortable. Castiel was asleep on her son's shoulder, his thin body curled up like a kitten. Dean was still awake as the closing credits filled the screen, his arms protectively encircling Cas's body. Mary recalled the time when Dean used to share a bed with Sam, and always denied giving sleepy cuddles the next day. Even as a little boy, he used to act like a man. Gabriel had finally climbed into his sleeping bag after sneaking a few photos of his little brother in Dean's arms to use as blackmail, and Sam was still dozing peacefully in his own bag.

"Good night, dear." Mary said to her eldest son, now the only boy left awake.

"See you mom." Dean replied sleepily, snuggling against Castiel into the warm blankets.

She turned off the TV and the room was left in the darkness. Returning to her room, she prayed as she did every night. Not for herself, but for her son. She wished for them to keep their wonderful friends, because they would need them one day. And maybe, in the case of Dean and Cas, could there be something more than friendship? She could hardly wait to see her children grow to that age, to see Dean and Sam have the kind of happiness that she and John had. As she returned to the bed where her husband was already asleep, she was happy and the house was warm and full. It was what she had always dreamed of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is actually plot and I apologise in advance for possible sadness... I know, wow! I bet you were beginning to think it was all just happy fluffy good times. I would love for you to maybe push the kudos button, or leave a comment, thank you to everyone who has! There is a lot more to come, and most of it is more interesting than this first part... Anyway, thank you!


	6. Chapter... 4? Or 5?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Cas's eating problems in this chapter, just to let you know :)  
> Skip it if this is a trigger or upsets you...

Gabriel was stuck. And not in a good way, like having candy stuck to his fingers or getting stuck in a broom closet with Kali (good times). Like, literally wedged between two piles of junk in the room of hidden things. He had been there for about fifteen minutes so far, and hadn't even managed to pull his shirt out from where it was caught between a saucepan and a copy of "Advanced Potion Making."

He was so stuck that he was even considering swallowing his pride and calling Anna back from the other side of the enormous room. His cousin had dared him to climb up one of the stacks and take something from the top as proof that he had completed the dare. Anna's dares were famous throughout Hogwarts, and Gabriel was also famous as one of the only students dumb enough to complete them. However, just as his mouth formed the first syllable of Anna's name, he saw a shape moving just in front of the old vanishing cabinet that was standing just inside his field of vision. He almost called out but thought better of it when he saw the figure. It was a adult rather than another lost student, and not a professor either.

In fact, the faded shirt with ancient tour dates on the back and messily tousled blond hair looked eerily familiar to him, and before the man turned around he was already praying that it wasn't who he thought it was. Because he loved his brother, he really did, but the guy was a great big bag of dicks. Not to mention, he had been banned from setting foot inside Hogwarts since an incident in his sixth year that had only been hushed up by a large donation from the Milton family bank accounts. 

Gabriel froze as the man turned around and his worst fears were confirmed. Lucifer was back at Hogwarts.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Blinding rays of sunlight lit up the Great Hall and soft fluffy clouds floated over the four house tables. Despite the fact that it was November and freezing cold outside. The professors were probably fed up of all the bad weather they'd been having, and Dean didn't blame them. He barely remembered living in Kansas as a small child, but it had certainly been warmer in November over there. An avalanche of students were currently choosing their lunches from the wide selection which had materialised in front of them. Dean's eyes fell upon a massive pumpkin pie and he snatched it up immediately. As usual, Castiel's plate was empty.

"Still not a 'lunch person'?" Anna grinned at her cousin, as she walked past the Hufflepuff table with a group of friends. "You should really try to eat. These pastries look nice, why don't you have one."

"I have no need of sustenance so soon after breakfast." Cas replied, scowling back at her.

Anna took no notice, snatching his empty plate and piling it high with food. Meanwhile, Dean was defending his pie from everyone else at the table.

"You can't possibly eat all that." Cas said, looking in awe at the enormous mound of pastry. "Why don't you just give them a slice each?" 

"No way, this is mine!" replied Dean, breathing in the spicy scent emanating from his lunch. It was warm, puffy and smelt like heaven. It looked almost as good as his mother's homemade recipe. However, there was one thing missing.

"You should have cream with that." Castiel passed over a blue jug, surreptitiously pushing away his own plate.

"Are you really going to miss all this food?" Dean asked, grabbing the jug and pouring full cream over the whole pie. Cas looked away.

"I have told you, Dean, I don't know why-" He trailed off when he saw Dean's expression. Then he sighed, and took a slice of steaming pie which Dean had cut for him. It was completely drowned in cream. "I do not understand your love of sweet foods."

Cas hadn't been used to regular meals as a child, and lunchtimes had been the worst part of every day. With his parents at work and only his siblings eating together in a break from their individual studies, Michael and Lucifer would be at each other's throats constantly with Gabriel and Raphael looking on. One by one, each of his brothers had gone off to Hogwarts when they reached eleven years old, but even when his home-schooling left him alone in the house, Cas still retained his dislike of eating at midday. In fact, he hardly ever ate a full meal at school, except under Dean's watchful gaze.

"Is it good, Cas?" Dean asked, still devouring his enormous bowl of pie, minus small one slice.

"Yes," Cas smiled back haltingly, his hands shaking slightly. "Thank you Dean." He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten a large helping of such sweet food. Slowly but surely, they were healing each other.

Then Gabriel burst into the hall, breathless and panicked. Nobody raised an eyebrow. Although he was only a fourth year, Gabriel's pranks were already well known throughout the school.

"This should be good!" Dean said enthusiastically, his mouth still full of pie. Cas just rolled his eyes and prayed that Gabriel would have enough sense to keep his latest trick to himself for now. There was nothing more embarrassing than his brother's childish antics being viewed by the entire school.

Meanwhile, Gabriel staggered slowly through the room and came to an abrupt halt next to Michael's chair at the Professors' table. Noise levels in the Hall dropped to an excited buzz as the students leaned forward to listen.

"What is it now, Gabriel?" Michael hissed, staring icily at his younger brother. "If this is a repeat of the Grindylow debacle, I'm giving you detention until you graduate."

"That was an accident." Gabriel replied haughtily, "And I've learnt my lesson. But this is serious. We need to evacuate the Hall right now, get everyone to the dungeons. And sound the alarms, we'll need the ministry here. Tell them they'll need to bring several crack teams of aurors."

A group of students seated close enough to the Professors' table to hear this speech burst into giggles and Michael's face turned slowly purple. "Is your sole aim in life to humiliate me in front of the pupils? Go down to the dungeons and stay there until I send a prefect to fetch you."

The conversation appeared to be over, and Castiel turned back to Dean. From his seat facing the back of the room, he didn't see Gabriel leaning over to whisper something in the Professor's ear, Michael's face turning deathly pale, everybody at the front of the hall falling silent. Just a few minutes later, Gabriel slid into a seat next to his younger brother.

"I wish you wouldn't do things like that." Cas told him crossly, "It's embarrassing for all of us. I thought you promised to stop after that... Incident with the grindylows last year."

"I wish everyone would just shut up about that. So I let out some grindylows, big deal."

Cas looked over at Dean, hoping for back-up, but his friend just shrugged, scooping up the last spoonfuls of pie from his plate.

"So, what did you do this time?" Cas asked, squinting his eyes. "Balance a bucket of water over the door to Michael's office? Import another batch of dragon eggs to the school gates using his credit card? Re-open the Chamber of Secrets? How bad is it?"

"Would you believe that I did absolutely nothing?"

"Do you really think I'm that gullible?" Cas sighed, crossing his arms and staring back. "Just tell me."

Lunch was coming to an end when Professor Milton stood up and walked up to the centre of the raised section of the hall, where the Headmistress usually stood. Silence fell.

"Some information has come to my attention," Michael began, and Gabriel shot a smug "I-told-you-so" look at his little brother. "Which necessitates that we evacuate the main body of the school until a thorough sweep of the premises has been performed. Would the house prefects please lead the way to the dungeons, walk quietly and calmly, slow down over there."

"What the hell?" Dean asked, looking up from his now empty bowl. "What was this prank, Gabriel? Explosives?"

"For the last time, it wasn't me!" Gabriel said, exasperated. "Lucifer's back, okay Cas? I saw him." Castiel stared back in horror. Dean just looked confused, and opened his mouth to ask a question.

"I'll tell you on the way to the dungeons." Cas cut in, and dragged Gabriel and Dean out of their seats. "We need to act fast."

"What's the plan?" Dean asked excitedly, bounding along with the crowd. "Are we gonna' try and capture Lucifer ourselves?"

"No, the plan is to find a safe hiding place and stay there until the aurors have searched the school top to bottom." Cas replied firmly. "Lucifer is the greatest dark wizard of this century, even Michael couldn't beat him in a duel. He can't be killed or defeated. Trust me. I know him."

Dean followed the crowd down several moving staircases, before realising something. "Hey Cas, my dad's an auror. Do you think he'll come here?"

"I'm sure he will." Castiel replied, "But promise me that you won't do anything stupid. Leave it up to the professionals." He narrowed his eyes at Dean, who tried to look innocent and nodded his head solemnly. 

"Don't worry Cas, I won't take on the most dangerous dark wizard ever with no back up. It would be rude to take all the glory for myself."

"Why are we even friends?", his friend replied with an exasperated tone, and they made their way down to the dungeons together. Gabriel followed, idly wondering whether the two second years realised that their conversations were verging on flirtatious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting the plot out of the way early ;)  
> My tumblr: wannahackthepentagon.tumblr.com  
> I'm looking for more Supernatural blogs to follow, so come and say hi!


	7. The real Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while. Sorry - real life got in the way. Here is the next chapter, warning for minor character death. I will post another as soon as I can. Thanks!

Three hours later, Dean was still sitting on the cold, damp floor of the dungeons. He was bored, his back hurt, and his feet were freezing. The students had stayed silent at first, waiting to hear that Lucifer had been found, but the younger ones had cheered up after a while. Several first years were playing an energetic game of 'Hunt-the-Troll', and the Ravenclaws had set up an impromptu study group in one corner of the room.

Cas was sitting beside him, his face deathly pale ever since he had heard that his brother had escaped from Azkaban. Dean wanted to cheer him up, but found that he couldn't think of anything to say. Meanwhile, Gabriel was amusing himself by producing tiny birds from his wand which flew around the small space pecking any students who weren't in Gryffindor. Tension was high between the houses, so it was a relief when footsteps finally sounded on the floor above. The prefects unlocked the heavy iron doors to reveal a group of tired looking aurors, one of whom was immediately recognisable to most of the second year students.

"Mom!" Dean cried, jumping into Mary's arms. A couple of the Slytherins sniggered, but most of the students looked enviously at Dean, missing the reassuring presence of their own parents. "I knew you and dad would come!" He continued, eyes shining. "But where's Sammy?"

"Sam's with your grandparents. He was desperate to come and visit you, but I told him that it was too dangerous here until we can find the dark wizard currently hiding somewhere in the castle. Your father and I were surprised that he took it so calmly, but then we found him hiding in the back of the car. We had to drag him out and make sure that Deanna was restraining him before we could leave."

"Have they found Lucifer yet?" Gabriel asked, his eyes almost golden in the darkness.

"Not yet sweetie." Mary replied, placing a hand on his soft hair. Castiel waited for Gabriel to push her away and make a joke about being mothered, but instead he appeared to be leaning into the contact. The other aurors soon left, but Mary stayed in the dungeon. She summoned a chest of board games from an obscure supply closet, and soon had an inter-house twister tournament up and running. Although the atmosphere remained tense, everyone felt at least a little bit safer with an adult around. The noise levels of the room grew so great that the pupils failed to notice a single set of footsteps on the staircase. Jo was the first to see the new arrival and when she did, her screams cut through the already tense air. Mary signalled the children to keep back as Lucifer descended the last few steps, waving his hand to silence Jo.

"Anyone know a decent dry cleaner?" He asked cheerily, wiping flecks of blood from his jacket. Somebody fainted. "Before you ask me what I'm after, Mrs Winchester, know that I have some non-negotiable terms. I'm afraid that these children are going to have to die. I'm sending a message to society here, and I believe that killing a bunch of defenceless kids is the traditional way to do that."

"You're a monster." Dean spat, but Mary placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from trying anything.

"Hey!" Lucifer retorted, "I was just about to let you go. Along with your dear mother." Seeing their surprise, he continued: "I said I wanted to kill some defenceless kids. I have no interest in murdering a brilliant young witch like yourself, Mary dear. Take little Dean, go home with your husband and live a long, moderately happy life."

"I'm not leaving." Mary replied, ignoring Cas's frantic tugging on her sleeve.

"You and Dean need to leave," Cas whispered urgently, "Lucifer will kill all of us, it's pointless to resist, but you can save Dean. You have to get him out of here."

"Dean is going to be okay, sweetie." Mary said quietly, staring back at Lucifer with grim determination. "Do your worst."

"Okay, fair enough." Lucifer grinned, "I was expecting that. However, I'm also willing to let my family leave. And before you think of raising the alarm on your way out, let me reassure you that my hearing extends to every part of the castle."

Anna, Raphael and Uriel were standing a little way behind Cas, all looking conflicted. Uriel stepped forward, walked slowly over to the steps and ran off without looking back. The others stood their ground. Lucifer narrowed his eyes, and motioned towards the staircase with his wand, "Cousin Anna, I am giving you an escape route, get out of here. And Raphael, brother. I thought that you were more sensible."

"This is not what father would have wanted." Raphael spat in his direction, nevertheless leaving the dungeons. Anna looked split, but Gabriel took her hand and she stayed where she was, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Have it your own way. Gabriel, I assume you wish to die too?" Lucifer looked slightly upset at this, but quickly reset his face to a cocky grin. "You always were brave. Brave and stupid. And what about you, little Castiel. I'm the only one in the family that cares about you. Michael's turned you against me out of spite, he may pretend he likes you but you've always been just another mouth to feed according to him. Tell me, has Michael ever told you that he cares about you?" Cas's face said it all.

"Gabriel and Raphael have never liked you either, you know. I used to hear them talking, calling you the runt of the family, the one who killed our mother and made Dad go crazy." Gabriel placed a hand on Cas's shoulder, but received no response. "Do you remember those days at the park," Lucifer continued, pressing his advantage: "Who was the one who played with you and taught you how to climb trees? The two of us, we're family and I don't want anything to happen to you. You're only, what, ten-years-old? Leave now while you still have the chance, Castiel. Come with me."

"I'm twelve." Castiel replied, and the spell was broken. He took a deliberate step back to stand with the other students. Lucifer scowled.

"So that's that then. If you're not prepared to leave, I have nothing more to say." He raised his wand, pointing it into the air. "Maybe when I wipe out the next generation of wizards I'll finally be taken seriously."

Mary bent down to whisper something to Dean. As if the world had suddenly gone into slow motion, everyone watched as she threw herself forward. There was a flash of green light. Then, all four hundred pupils suddenly found themselves on the field by the Quidditch pitch.

"Mom?" Dean called, immediately running into the crowd to search for her among the shapes of relieved students hugging each other on the grass. Castiel followed.

"I'm sorry Dean." Gabriel said, appearing out of nowhere and placing a hand on his shoulder. "That was the killing curse. I am so sorry."

"No-one asked you for your opinion," Dean snapped, pushing Gabriel's hand away. "My mom is an amazing witch, she would have done something, blocked the curse. She'll definitely be okay, right Cas?"

"She might have got out of the way..." Cas replied with as much conviction as he could muster. Behind him, Gabriel shook his head slowly. The adults soon emerged from the castle, all pale and talking amongst themselves in low voices. John was one of the first to reach the group of students, pulling Dean into an embrace that told Cas exactly what had happened to Mary. 

"Castiel, Gabriel, Raphael." Michael called, pulling Cas close to him and patting him on the head. "I have sent our brother back to Azkaban, where he belongs. I am so sorry that you had to go through that ordeal." Cas nodded numbly, but couldn't reply: he was still watching Dean and John, who had started to walk back to the castle.

"However, I have some excellent news!" He continued, letting go of his brother and pushing him to the side. "My victory against Lucifer has caused the school board to come to a decision, and they have decided to make me the next headmaster of Hogwarts! I don't have to tell you that this is a great honour elevating the rank of our family." As Raphael, Uriel and the others congratulated him heartily, Cas stood up and walked back to the castle.

There, he found Dean alone in their dormitory, angrily wiping away tears. "My dad's taking me and Sammy away for the rest of the year." Dean blurted out, as soon as he saw Cas standing in the doorway. "He says we're going into hiding, that it's not safe here. I said that the other students were staying, but he wouldn't listen. To be honest, I think he's just lonely and he wants me to stay with him until September."

"Can I come with you?" Cas asked, sitting down next to Dean and passing him photo frames to pack in his trunk. "No-one would miss me."

Dean gave him a watery smile, and replied. "I already asked my dad. He said no, but I might be able to persuade him for the summer."

"That's three months away." Cas said dully. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll be okay." Dean said, to reassure himself as much as his friend. "At least I'll always have Sammy." He turned away and resumed packing his clothes.

"You'll always have me as well." Cas said quietly, sitting down on his bed and waiting for Dean to say something about chick-flick moments. Instead, he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"I just can't believe she's gone." Dean whispered burying his head in Castiel's robes.

Cas held him until John appeared in the dormitory, grabbing the trunk and shaking Dean roughly. His movements were erratic, and he smelt faintly of fire whiskey. Cas waved to Dean out of the window in their dormitory until he was out of sight, then fell backwards onto his bed, already counting the days until the summer, when he would at least have a chance to see Dean again.


	8. Chapter 8

"Dean, Dean!" Sam Winchester's little voice echoed through platform nine and three quarters as Dean moved quickly towards the Hogwarts Express. "Wait for me, Dean!" 

"Hurry up then Sammy, or we'll miss the train." Dean replied, nevertheless slowing down. After several months holed up in Scotland he was excited to see his friends again, but taking care of his little brother still came first. 

"You got everything?" John asked, pulling them into an awkward hug. "I'll see you both at Christmas, I'm cancelling all my work commitments for a few weeks so we can stay at home."

"Thanks Dad," Dean said, and led Sam over to the train. He didn't do chick-flick moments any more, especially not with his father. On board the Hogwarts Express, it was chaos as usual. A barrage of noisy kids were pushing and shoving each other to find a good compartment and there were owls, toads and cats everywhere. Sam was startled and gripped the hand of his older brother as they navigated their way through to an empty compartment.

As the train finally pulled out of the station, the boys both stuck their heads out the window and waved back to their father. Dean watched John mouthing something to him. Your mother would be so proud.

"Hey Dean-o! And my favourite Sasquatch." Gabriel entered the carriage in a haze of pink smoke, smelling faintly of strawberries. "Anyone want a chocolate? I bought them in London, they're good."

"I wouldn't touch those," A deeper voice warned as Dean stretched out his palm for a chocolate. "He bought them at that Weasley joke shop."

"Cas!" Dean jumped to his feet and embraced his best friend, "I've missed you."

"Hello Dean," Castiel intoned in his low voice, which was getting even deeper as they grew up. Dean suspected that when their voices broke completely, Cas' words would be completely unintelligible due to it's gravelly tone. To an outsider, it may have looked like Castiel was uncomfortable, but his enjoyment of the hug could be discerned through the way he relaxed into it and the crinkling of his soulful eyes.

"While those two are enjoying their love-fest," Gabriel grinned, ignoring Dean's middle finger which was clearly visible from behind Castiel, "It's good to see you Sam. Although, shouldn't you be with the other first years?

"Oh. I guess I'll go find them." Sam looked terrified at the idea of leaving the security of Dean and the others, especially since he had barely spent a moment alone since Mary's death.

"Don't worry about it." Gabriel said, reading his mind. "You'll be fine. Just stay away from a girl called Lilith, I hear that she's a real little demon. Our Balthazar is in your year though, he's a blond kid with an annoying accent. Go and introduce yourself to him if nobody else wants to hang out with you."

"Thanks," Sam replied gratefully. Then another thought struck him: "What if I get sorted into Slytherin?"

"Some of the Slytherins are nice." Cas said, joining the conversation. "Like Benny, he's in our year. Or Amy Pond."

"Stop talking nonsense, Cas." Gabriel replied, "Slytherins are evil. You, little Sammy, want to be in Gryffindor, like me. Not Hufflypuff, like those two little marshmallows." He grinned at the reaction he was provoking in Dean.

"Hufflepuff is the house of loyalty, not marshmallows." Cas said, looking a little confused. "Each house is for people who value one overriding characteristic above all others, and- Dean, why is that funny? Stop laughing."

"You'll do great." Dean ruffled Sam's hair, pulling him closer. "Cas is right, you'll find friends wherever you end up. And anyone gives you a hard time, you just let me know." Sam got up to go. "And remember to make an impression on all those hot chicks."

"Shut up." Sam replied, making his favourite bitch face. "I'll see you all at the sorting." His little body was soon lost in the crowds outside the compartment.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Dean asked. Gabriel just rolled his eyes and picked up a lollypop from the floor.

"He'll be fine." Cas replied, grimacing as Gabriel shoved the fluffy candy into his mouth. "How are we even related?"

"No idea, little bro." Gabriel opened his mouth wide and waggled the lollypop stick from side to side. "Anyway, Cassie told our precious cousin Balthazar to look out for him. He'll make sure Sam's okay."

Before long, there was another knock at the compartment door. "Any seats free in here?" Without waiting for a response, Jo leapt through the door, landing in Dean's lap. Charlie, Ash and Benny followed her inside. During his two years at Hogwarts, Dean had managed to make a wide variety of friends from all different houses. Charlie and Jo were in Gryffindor, Ash was a Ravenclaw and Benny had been shocked to find himself sorted into Slytherin.

"Did you guys have a good summer?" Charlie asked, "Mine was awesome, I got the new Xbox!" Noticing Cas's confusion, she continued: "It's a muggle thing, they're so cool!"

"Yeah, summer was alright." Dean replied distractedly. "My little brother's starting school today."

"I remember him, he's a short kid with floppy brown hair, right?" Ash said, "I saw him sitting in between two girls, he looked happy to me."

"Way to go, Sasquatch!" Gabriel yelled, abruptly changing the subject. "Is your mother still working at the Roadhouse, Jo? I want to try their new menu."

Dean looked around nervously as Jo launched into a story about one of Ellen's recent customers. Ellen had been great friends with his own mother and he remembered the times that John and Mary had invited the Harvelles over for a barbecue. That would never happen again. Jo was quiet for a moment, and Dean looked over at her. Big mistake.

"I was just saying, Dean," Jo continued, "That time your parents took us for a drive in their new car, Sam jammed these little army men down the radiators and your mom had to spend hours trying to fish them back out, it was hilarious!"

"Yeah," He replied, forcing a smile and playing with his fingers so that nobody would notice that his hands were shaking. He was mentally preparing himself for the rest of the conversation with Jo, when Cas cut in smoothly.

"Which country do you think will win the quidditch world cup this year?" If anyone else was surprised that Castiel was taking an interest in sports, they didn't show it and Jo eagerly bean talking about the merits of the Transylvanian team. When the familiar trolley of sweets arrived, Gabriel produced what looked like a year's supply of gold and bought the lot, throwing various packets at everyone.

Dean waited until everyone was eating before tapping his best friend gently on the shoulder. "Thank you." He whispered, "I just don't feel like talking about her yet."

Cas smiled quietly, bringing his face closer to Dean's ear and whispering: "I missed you too. How was the holiday?"

"Not great." Dean replied quietly. "But on the upside, I finally beat Sam at wizard chess. We played so many matches that even dad got sick of the game." Cas laughed, breathing hot air onto his neck, and Dean couldn't help moving in closer to his friend until they were almost touching. That was before he caught sight of Jo's wide eyed expression. "Dude, personal space..." Dean added quickly, giving Cas a gentle push until they were at a semi-respectable distance. The rest of the journey was relaxed and the train soon came to an abrupt stop.

"Here goes!" Gabriel said, opening the door with a flourish, "A new year at Hogwarts! New professors to torment, new girls to date and new first years to terrorise!"

"Mess with Sam and you're dead." Dean warned as he left the warmth of the Hogwarts Express and stepped into the cold air outside. At least he no longer needed to worry about his brother. The first years were getting into boats nearby and Sam was chatting animatedly with two pretty girls. One had a long blonde ponytail and the other was even shorter than Sam with wavy black hair and a mischievous smile.

"Hey Sammy!" Dean yelled, waving and giving him a huge thumbs up as he climbed onto a carriage. Sam waved back enthusiastically, rocking the boat. "I think he's got himself a girlfriend."

Dean nudged Cas, pointing to the blonde girl next to Sam who was showing him something with her wand. Sam looked intrigued and kept staring at a single curl which had escaped from her ponytail. "Don't embarrass him." Cas warned, taking a seat next to him and Dean giggled, mimicking Sam's awestruck expression which made everybody burst out laughing.

"But seriously, if Sammy gets a girl before I do!" Dean sighed dramatically, leaning backwards onto Benny.

"I feel you, brother." Benny replied, "Andrea still doesn't know I exist." The boys (and Charlie) launched into a conversation about girls, a topic about which everyone seemed to have very strong views. Gilda and Dorothy were Charlie's dream girlfriends, Gabriel started gushing about Kali who was two years older than him but had once laughed at one of his jokes, and Ash seemed to be madly in love with just about any of the girls mentioned. Castiel stayed quiet.

"What about Lisa Braeden?" Dean continued, a faraway expression in his eyes. "She's so pretty, and popular, and she's got the nicest-"

"I don't like her." Cas said suddenly. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "What? I've never liked her."

"That's the first I've heard of it." Gabriel replied, his eyes sparkling mischievously as the carriage rolled to a stop outside the school gates. "Anyway, we should go, I want to get a good seat for the sorting. Anyone want to place a bet on Sam's new house?"

"Ravenclaw," Dean said immediately, "He's such a nerd. I'll put 11 Sickles on it, but if I win you owe me three galleons."

"Done." Gabriel replied, "But I'm telling you, he'll end up in Gryffindor with me. I've always wanted a little minion to take the blame for all my failed pranks."

"You wouldn't dare," Dean growled before Cas gently restrained him from Gabriel, who had sprinted ahead, waggling his tongue back at them.

The sun was high over the castle, and despite the September breeze, the morning was warm. Dean smiled despite himself and turned to Cas whose eyes had been trained on him for most of the day, a small smile on his pink lips suggesting how pleased he was to have his best friend back at last. "Race you to the castle!" Dean yelled suddenly, and they both took off down the gravel path which led to the Great Hall. Wherever Sammy ended up it didn't really matter. As long as he and Dean and Cas were together, they were going to be okay.

(Sam was placed in Ravenclaw and Gabriel paid Dean his winnings in trick galleons. This started a prank war that was to last for the rest of the school year and eventually ended in disaster. But that's another story entirely...)


	9. Chapter 9

It was only a few minutes after he had been woken up by Dean to participate in a night of illicit activities, and Castiel was already regretting getting involved. If only he had refused and buried his face in his soft, warm blankets... Unfortunately, Dean was hard to resist when he was bouncing up and down on your bed with barely contained excitement and a mischievous expression. Dean had told Cas all about his brother's puppy-dog eyes, but he privately thought that Sam wasn't the only Winchester who could get what he wanted by fluttering his eyelashes.

"I'm just going to say this one more time, are you sure you want to do this?" Predictably, Dean took no notice and strode on through the dark corridor. "Gabriel will kill me if he finds out I had a hand in whatever misdeeds you have planned."

"Relax, man." Dean grinned, slowing down. "Gabe's always telling you to loosen up and have a little fun. He'll be impressed."

They were already about half way down the corridor which held the Gryffindor dormitory, or at least that was where Cas presumed they were. There were many identical corridors in the school and it sometimes hard to tell where exactly each one led to. "I highly doubt that," he replied dryly, but was interrupted by a noise from the other end of the hall. Both boys stopped in their tracks.

Faster than anyone would have believed possible, Castiel grabbed his friend's arm and dragged him backwards down the corridor, stopping at a life-size portrait of one of the school's old professors. He pressed a spot at the corner of the frame, then pressed it again, harder. Nothing happened. "I can see someone coming!" Dean's voice shook and he pressed himself against the wall. The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and still the portrait wasn't opening.

Cas growled something that sounded like "I am not getting expelled for your stupid prank" and slammed his body against the top half of the painting. There was a clicking noise of something breaking and the door swung open. They climbed inside and waited.

"Crowley's out there." Dean whispered peeking through the gap. "He's coming this way..." They stayed in silence as the slow footsteps of the potions master faded away. "Phew, he's gone. How did you know there was a door here?"

"Gabriel told me." Cas replied, suddenly aware of the small space they were in. Dean's arms were pressed against his own and he could feel the tickling warmth of the other boy's hair on his neck as he bent down. He opened the door again and with a rush of cold air, they were free. Spurred on by their success, they soon reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. Dean whispered something to the woman in the portrait and it opened immediately. They were in.

The large room was empty and getting cold. Cas privately thought that it was nowhere near as cool as the Hufflepuff's room. Theirs was near the kitchen and always smelt like baking. Meanwhile, Dean was making his way up some stairs. He made a gesture to Cas to follow. They soon found themselves in a fancy bathroom with shelves full of potions and bottles of every colour. "Which one is Gabriel's?" Dean asked in a whisper. Cas pointed out a large bottle of green shampoo at the back and Dean took out his wand, touching it to the container and murmuring a spell. 

"That'll teach him for trying to fob me off with plastic galleons," Dean muttered to himself, turning on his heel and leaving the room. Cas followed, saddled with the uneasy feeling that he had got himself involved in something far greater than a simple instance of revenge against his older brother.

 

\--------------------------------------------Day 1------------------------------------------------------

Just a few hours later, Cas was woken by banging and raised voices coming from the common room. He groaned, putting a pillow over his head, and tried to get a little more sleep before lessons started. The volume of the argument increased and the voices gradually became audible. Cas narrowed his eyebrows and sat up in bed. After pulling on his robes, he made his way downstairs to find the entirety of the Hufflepuff house gathered around Sam and Dean Winchester, who were standing in the middle of the room with their wands pointed at each other.

"I just can't believe you would do that!" Sam yelled, running a hand over his head where his brown hair should have been. "The hospital wing said I needed to see Professor Crowley for a hair regrowth potion! It's going to take about four weeks, what am I going to do until it grows back?"

"How was I to know you'd run out of shampoo on this exact morning and go running to Gabriel for another bottle?" Dean yelled back. Although his tone was furious, Cas could tell that it was masking his guilt. The last thing that Dean would have wanted was to upset his little brother. "Anyway, why did you choose to borrow from Gabriel instead of, oh, I don't know, your own brother? Do you like him better than me, is that it?"

Sam had the decency to look ashamed. "If you must know, Gabriel uses Herbal Essences. Dad packed me this store brand stuff that makes my hair feel like straw." Presumably remembering his anger, Sam hastily added: "Or should I say, made my hair feel like straw. Seeing as I no longer have any. Oh, and Dean? I'm on Gabriel's side. For the prank war." Sam left the room with his head held high.

There was a shocked silence. Then Aaron and a few others began to laugh, most of the students returning to their beds to catch up on some more sleep. Cas felt glad that he was in Hufflepuff rather than any of the other houses; the students had all refrained from laughing at Sammy until he was far enough away not to hear. Dean meanwhile was sitting by the fire with his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot," he groaned. "What if the other Ravenclaws tease him for the next few weeks? That'll be on me."

"I don't think they'll tease him." Cas replied. He sat down on a sofa near the fire and yawned. "Charlie's in Ravenclaw, and she says that the only time they make fun of students is when they get low scores on a test."

"That's good to know," said Dean, looking slightly happier. "So, Cas. Looks like I've got myself into a full blown prank war. Are you going to lecture me about expulsion and immaturity, or are you going to help me?"

"I'm in." Cas replied simply. "I don't know how much help I can be, but I like to think that I've learnt a few things from Gabriel over the years." Dean's smile was downright wicked, and a thrill of excitement coursed through Cas's body at the thought of getting back at Gabriel for all the pranks he'd suffered for the last thirteen years of his life.

 

\-----------------------------------------Day 2--------------------------------------------------------

Dean and Castiel spent the next day on high alert. The revenge of Sam and Gabriel was imminent and they were determined not to be caught out. The morning passed as normal: Potions class, Herbology, Defense against the Dark Arts. The only thing that seemed a bit unusual was the amount of attention which Lisa Braeden and her friends were paying to Dean. Usually they sat at the front of the class, bathing in the glow of their popularity and doing the bare minimum of work, but today Lisa, Bela and Cassie were whispering amongst themselves and shooting glances at Dean while he was writing.

That night, both boys agreed that Sam and Gabriel must be saving their revenge for later in the week, when they would be least expecting a cruel prank. It was only logical, and Cas guessed that was Sam's doing. Gabriel usually retaliated within hours of the beginning of a prank war and in a childish way. With Sam's cunning on his side, Cas had a feeling that things were not going to be so simple.

He was just settling down by the fire with a quill and a few rolls of parchment when Bela, one of Lisa Braeden's best friends, stepped into the Hufflepuff dormitory. She strode right over to where Dean and Cas were sitting by the fireplace, ignoring Dean's flirtatious smile. "Okay, so here's the deal," she said, producing a piece of paper from a tiny pink bag. "Lisa asked me to give this to you, she says she's falling behind in Defense against the dark arts and she needs tutoring. Apparently she heard you were top of the class last year in practical application of spells?"

Dean grabbed the paper, grinning so hard that his face looked like it was about to split in two. "Great, yeah, I mean, that would be cool." Bela looked unimpressed, but then, that seemed to be her default expression. She left the room without so much as a goodbye. As soon as Bela left, he punched the air in excitement. "Cas," he yelled, "do you know what this means?"

"Lisa Braeden is really bad at Defense against the Dark Arts?" Castiel replied, trying to focus on his potions essay.

Dean took no notice of his friend's sarcasm. "This is my chance," he exclaimed: "I'll take Lisa to a dark corner of the library, light some candles, impress her with my knowledge of Defense against the dark arts, it'll be awesome!" He proceeded to unfold the parchment which Bela had handed over and they both peered down at it.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that she wants to meet you tonight?" Cas asked, scanning the note. It was written with bright pink ink and smelt like strawberries. It didn't seem like the kind of thing that the uber-cool Lisa would write. "It's almost curfew already, you don't want to get caught by Crowley."

Dean looked slightly doubtful before his face cleared. "She must be worried about the test in class tomorrow. That's why she wants to meet tonight, so we can study together." Cas thought it more likely that Sam and Gabriel had used Dean's burgeoning interest in the opposite sex to set a trap that he wouldn't be able to resist walking into. However he stayed quiet. If Dean was going to sneak out to the library after hours, then Cas would be there too.

It was the second time that he had broken the rules in just under two days, and as he followed Dean down the dark passageway to the library, thoughts of what Michael would say if he found out flashed through his mind. Last year or the year before, he would have agonised for hours about behaving in a way that was degrading to the Milton family, but since Mary Winchester's death, things had changed. On that day, the way that Michael and the rest of his family had ignored the suffering of others to focus on their own achievements had sickened him. He had made up his mind then not to be the perfect student any more. Being there for Dean and his little brother was much more important than what his family thought of him.

Dean quickly reached the library, with Cas following from a safe distance. He found the place mentioned in Lisa's note where she wanted him to wait, and sat down, placing textbooks on the desk and lighting up his wand so that Lisa would be able to find him. Meanwhile, Cas positioned himself behind a conveniently placed shelf of dusty spell books. They waited. They kept waiting, then waited some more. Dean's constant fidgeting was becoming frustrating and Castiel was about to reveal himself and suggest that they leave. 

Then footsteps sounded in the corner of the room. Despite his attempts to see who was approaching, it was too dark to see whether this was Lisa or somebody else. Dean got up and cautiously took a few steps towards the figure, his wand emanating a dull yellow light. From his position, he wouldn't be able to see the face of whoever it was until they had come close enough to trap him. This was the perfect place for an ambush, and suddenly, Castiel knew without a doubt that something bad was gong to happen. He dived outside and grabbed Dean roughly by the shoulder, pulling him behind the tiny shelf of spell books. Dean breathed in sharply, but said nothing as Cas slowly put a single finger to his lips.

Outside, Professor Crowley stopped in the space where Dean had been standing just a moment ago. He looked around, narrowing his eyes in a search of the area. Dean's textbooks were still on the desk. Crowley picked one up with a self-satisfied smirk. He looked inside the cover, where the name Dean Winchester was written in messy, scrawling handwriting and muttered something to himself. Then he left, having enchanted every one of Dean's books to float behind him in a huge pile.

Dean and Cas looked at each other and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Dean spoke first in a muffled voice: "So, this was Gabriel and Sam? I can't believe Sammy would do that to me, set me up like that to get caught by Crowley! What do you think he would have punished me with if he found me?"

"Three months detention at least." That sounded about right Cas thought, as something else occurred to him. "But Crowley did take your Defence against the Dark Arts books with him. You'll have to get them back so he has no proof that you were here."

"No problem, I'll just summon them out of his office," Dean said breezily. "I'm not even going to ask how you appeared out of thin air." He grinned, clearly back to his normal exuberant self. "I'm glad you did though. Seriously, thanks." Together, they made their way back to the Hufflepuff Common Room in order to plan a prank like no other ever performed in the history of the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took a while... The final part of the Third Year will be posted next month!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I left it so long, I just started college and it's been crazy! This chapter is the start of year 4, it's a little short and a little sad, but leads nicely into the next phase of the story. Thanks for reading!

The Great Hall was resplendent. Icicles hung from the ceiling, the tables were shining and stacked high with all kinds of exotic food and everything glittered like it had been transfigured into real ice and snow. Maybe it had been. Castiel craned his neck so that he could see in through a narrow window. Inside, a rainbow of beautiful students in dress robes and formal wear of various colors were spinning around on the dance floor. From his vantage point of the roof of the castle, he could only see the glittery shapes of his classmates below and without meaning to he found himself searching for Dean in the crowd, although he knew that it would be impossible to find him.

He had tried to get excited about the Yule Ball. He had really tried. He'd put himself through the agony of shopping for dress robes with Gabriel, he'd visited the kitchens to check out the menus with Charlie and he'd even let Dean persuade him to ask a girl to accompany him there. Of course, he was friends with Hannah. They studied ancient runes together and discussed OWL test results. Dean had even described her with the words: 'pretty cute for a nerdy chick'. Personally, Cas couldn't see the attraction, but her face lit up when he invited her to the ball and she told him that she hadn't expected anyone to want to go with her. After that, he felt compelled to attend the Yule Ball just so that she wouldn't have to sit in the library alone while everyone else was dancing.

He sighed and pulled his thin coat tightly around him, wondering why he was so abnormal. Whilst Dean and the others had become interested in girls over the last few years, he had still never felt attracted to one, never looked at Hannah or Meg or any of the others who seemed (for some reason) to be interested in him. Maybe he was just meant to be alone. At least the Milton family would accept that, having produced enough children in the last few decades to populate a small island. However, he wasn't so sure that Gabriel and Anna would let him get away so easily.

Just what had been the reason for him to leave the ball? He had spent so long preparing for it and getting himself ready that to end up on the roof of the castle seemed like a waste. But he found that he couldn't bring himself to return to his friends either. It wasn't like anyone would really miss him back at the party. Hannah could hang out with Amy and Gilda, and his friends all seemed obsessed with the dates they were bringing. Especially Dean. The thought of Dean in his fitted dress robes, jet black and tight across the chest, slow-dancing with Lisa under the snowflakes and mistletoe was enough to drive the thought of going back into the hall entirely out of his mind.

==================================================================================

Two hours earlier...

"Smile Cas!" Sam shoved his new camera right into Castiel's face, clicking the button and temporarily blinding him with a flash of light. "Anna told me to take lots of photos of you, she's keeping a family photo album. You fourth years are so lucky you get to go to the Yule Ball. I wish I could be there!"

"You'll have your turn soon, Sasquatch." Gabriel said, patting Sam on the shoulder. No one knew quite why a popular sixth year student like Gabriel spent all his time with Sam, who was four years younger, but they seemed to be the best of friends. "Hey Hannah, we're over here!" She entered the Hufflepuff common room timidly, blushing as the students around her admired her blue dress.

Cas smiled at her in what he hoped was a friendly way. "Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked him sweetly, pulling him over to the side of the room behind a screen. When she was sure that they were alone, she continued: "We don't have to go through with this, you know."

"What?" he replied, feeling suddenly sick. He had tried so hard to feign enthusiasm that to fail now was just embarrassing.

"I know you're not interested in the dance. Or in me."

"Sorry." Cas thought for a moment before giving up the charade. He sat down heavily.

"No, it's fine," she said quickly.. "I just wanted to tell you that there's no pressure. We can go as friends or not at all, you decide." Before he could respond, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway.

All eyes turned to Lisa Braeden. She was standing in the doorway in an elegant black dress that made quite an impression on most of the male students in Hufflepuff. "Hey guys, everyone ready?" she beamed, turning to Benny who was standing with Sam and Gabe at the edge of the group. "Benny, you look great, I love those robes and you must be Dean's little brother, it's Sal right? You are so cute!"

Sam glared at her, deploring his brother's taste in girls. Luckily, or unluckily depending how you see it, Dean missed this exchange and walked straight over to his girlfriend. He looked slightly uncomfortable in formal wear, but at the same time it suited him well.

"Come on guys," Lisa said, a trace of impatience audible in her voice. "Everyone's here now and I want to get there early to reserve the best seats."

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked looking around the group in confusion.

"Who?" his girlfriend questioned as she applied a second layer of lip gloss.

"I'm here," replied Cas quickly,"Let's go."

"Wait!" Sam interrupted, "I need a photo of Dean and Cas for the scrapbook."

Cas sighed. The Winchester family scrapbook was a project which Mary had started before she died. She wanted to leave a record of their family for future generations and so had purchased a massive photo album. There were notes pasted in every gap denoting exactly what she wanted photographed and where it should go. Since her death, Sam had assumed responsibility of taking all these photos and took the whole thing extremely seriously.

"Wouldn't it be better to put in a photo of Dean with Lisa?" he asked, "She is his date."

"Read the note." Sam replied obstinately. "Dean and Cas at the Yule Ball. The album wouldn't be complete without you, Cas, you're family too."

"Go ahead!" Lisa said. "We can take all the couple photos later - there are professional photographers downstairs." Then Dean slung an arm over his shoulder and put on a cheesy grin for the camera. Cas tried to smile too, but his friend's presence so close by was somehow distracting. It had never felt like that before. After a bright flash, it was over and Dean's arm left his shoulder.

The group moved to the doorway and Hannah shot a questioning glance at Cas. "Yes, we're going," he muttered so quietly that she barely heard. They all made their way down the stairs to the Great Hall and were met with an explosion of color and sound. Pupils from all different schools were mingling on the dance floor and even the professors were joining in.

"Let's go and dance!" Lisa grinned and pulled Dean over to the dance floor. The others followed in pairs and soon they were all packed into the tight space. While he danced with Hannah, their arms barely touching, Cas couldn't help looking over at Dean and Lisa. As he watched, Lisa pulled her boyfriend closer to her, tilting her head upwards. For some reason he couldn't tear his eyes away from the couple as they kissed under the fake night sky, fake snow falling around them. That was when he left the ball.

==================================================================================

Cas saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and craned his neck to see over the guttering. A group of students had gathered around the base of the Herbology building; he recognized Charlie, Garth, Benny and... Dean. He quickly slid down the top of the roof and made his way to the fire escape stairs that led to the ground.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Hannah told us that you were looking feverish all evening before you disappeared." Charlie said. "We couldn't just leave you to wander around the castle in that state. I would never do that to a friend, even with a hot date waiting for me back on the dance floor."

"I'm sorry for putting pressure on you to go," said Dean, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. Benny looked at him suspiciously and Cas knew that he would have to invent some reason to be excused from the rest of the dance.

"I came..." He stared to cough feebly. "I don't feel well at all." He shivered involuntarily as Dean placed a firm hand against his forehead.

"He's burning up," Dean told the others, sounding concerned. "I'm talking you back to the common room. Tell Lisa I'll be back soon."

"Thanks." Cas said awkward. He felt utterly ashamed as Dean led him back inside the castle and through the dark, empty corridors which led to the kitchens and Hufflepuff Common room.

"It's fine," Dean reassured him. "You have a fever. I've told Sammy to look in on you later."

"You should go back to Lisa now." said Cas. He felt overheated and his head was swimming, but he knew that it wasn't a virus or a bug that was making him ill.

"Dude," Dean said. "Look at me, Cas. We're family, okay? These moving stairs are dangerous at night and I'm not going to leave you to negotiate them on your own, especially in your condition." Dean walked him all the way back to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room and there he smiled a smile that made Cas forgive him for everything.

"Anyway," he continued, "I'll be seeing Lisa all evening. And maybe all night, you never know. I might get lucky!" Seeing his friend's face turn suddenly pale, he patted him tenderly on the shoulder. "Get well soon Cas."

Castiel walked, zombie-like through the empty common rooms and up into the dormitory. He had never been so glad to see his bed and lose himself between the cold sheets, having learnt two important things.

One: Dean Winchester was the most infuriating human being on the planet. And two: he was irrevocably in love with him. It was going to be a long three years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I'm so sorry it was so late! The next part should be up in a couple of weeks :) I would very much like to thank the following: Inferification, destiel_actually, hogwartsbaby, Blainebubble, Fiondi, Jess and Daughter_of _Raziel, as well as everyone who left kudos! You're all amazing!


	11. Chapter 11

John Winchester stood on platform nine and three quarters, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to arrive. The other parents kept a short distance from him and their easy conversation and laughter made him think of Mary. His late wife had loved chatting to everyone she met; one of the things he had admired her most for was the way that she made friends everywhere she went. She had known a lot of the other witches and wizards who were the parents of kids Dean's age at Hogwarts, but now that she was gone the other parents avoided him like the plague. At first they were sympathetic and congregated around him with dishes of food and kind words about his loss. However, after every attempt to engage him in conversation had failed, they had recognized that all he wanted was to be left alone.

It was midday before the huge train rolled majestically into the station. Most of the parents ran along the platform, desperate for a glance of the children they hadn't seen for months. John stayed where he was. 

Dean was one of the first to leave the train, surrounded by a large group of friends. John recognized Ellen's daughter Joanna Beth, who had an arm around Dean's shoulder. Ash, her adopted brother ,followed with Benny, who he knew was another of his son's closest friends despite being in Slytherin house. Dean himself was at the center of the group, making exaggerated gestures as he told a story. Cas and Sam were close behind, engaged in conversation. That was unusual, John thought to himself. Normally it was difficult to separate Dean from his best friend on the last day of term, but today it was Sam dragging Castiel out of the train with both hands. He waved to his younger (and more attentive) son and Sammy ran over immediately, still pulling Cas along behind him.

"Hi dad!" he cried. "Before we go, can I just go and tell Ruby the number of your mobile phone so we can talk over the summer? I promise I'll be quick!" Sam ran over to a girl with wavy dark hair and scribbled down a number on the back of her hand. John watched with astonishment as she kissed Sam on the cheek. He ran back blushing fiercely and John ruffled his hair. He had always thought that Dean would be the only womanizer in the family, but clearly that wasn't the case.

"Hey dad," Dean grinned after sauntering over to his father. "Did you miss me?"

"Aren't you going to go and say goodbye to your friends?" John asked in consternation. Dean shrugged and walked over to the others who were embracing each other and exchanging promises. He couldn't help noticing that Castiel stayed behind with Sam.

"They're fighting." Sam seemed to read his mind and leaned over so that Cas wouldn't hear what he was saying. "It's all Dean's fault. He skipped class to go to Hogsmead with Lisa when he and Cas were supposed to be giving a presentation in Potions. When Dean didn't show up, Professor Crowley failed them both."

"I should go," Cas said, glancing at Dean and Lisa, then quickly looking back to Sam. "Tell Dean I said goodbye. I hope you both have a nice summer." Sam hugged Castiel, a gesture that was awkwardly returned by the older boy. John sighed and looked down at his watch.

Just as Sam finished saying his goodbyes to both Cas and Gabriel, Michael appeared. He looked even more serious than usual and although John couldn't hear what he was saying, he saw the faces of the younger Miltons fall, and he felt that he could make a good guess at what had happened. "Dad," Sam began as soon as he had crossed the platform, already pulling his best puppy dog look. "You know Mr Milton, Cas and Gabriel's father."

John sighed, he knew what was coming. Like Sam and Dean, Cas and Gabriel had lost their mother and were raised by a single father. Unfortunately, while he wouldn't be winning father of the year anytime soon, Mr Milton was even more absent and rarely showed up even to collect his kids for the summer vacation. It looked like the Winchesters would be bringing a few guests home for the holidays.

"We wouldn't want to impose on you, sir," said Cas, who had rushed over as soon as he'd guessed what Sam was about to ask. His deep blue eyes looked sadly at Dean, who was still saying a very long goodbye to his girlfriend.

"Don't be ridiculous, we would be happy to have you both," John replied. After all, Castiel was no trouble at all and with two extra boys around, he wouldn't feel so guilty about leaving Sam and Dean on their own in the cottage. "Come on, Dean," he continued, raising his voice. "We're leaving." He wasn't looking forward to Sam's teenage rebellions, but surely he couldn't be as bad as his older brother.

Finally, everyone was ushered into the car with their various trunks and cases and they were on their way home. John had hoped that once they were out of the station, the boys would fall into their usual routine of chatting and laughing about their year. Instead, the drive home was awful.

Sam was trapped in the middle seat between Cas and Dean, who still weren't talking to each other. Dean was staring stubbornly out of the window and Cas was reading, but every so often, one of them would glance at the other and then look away immediately. John had thought that Gabriel would be easier to control in the front seat, but that didn't turn out to be the case. He spent the first hour of the journey tearing up candy wrappers and tearing them up into sticky confetti which soon covered every surface of the Impala. The awkward silence would have been funny if it wasn't so unbearable.

They were a couple of hours outside London when Sam expressed the need for a rest stop. "Can't you hold it, Sammy?" Dean asked, exasperated.

Sam just glared at him. "We've been in the car for hours and it's going to be evening before we get to the cottage."

"Bitch," Dean muttered under his breath, just loud enough for his brother to hear. The tension in the car racked up another notch and Sam opened the door before the car had even stopped.

He gestured to Gabriel to get out of the car and they met by the toilets. "Gabe, we need to talk," he said, sounding truly desperate. "I can't spend a whole summer trying to ignore those two and their stupid fight. We have to do something!"

"Good call, Sasquatch." Gabriel replied, a twinkle in his eyes. "It seems to me that they're both much too stubborn to apologize to each other without a little help, so this is what we're going to do..." Sam listened as the plan came to life in front of him. Dean was not going to be happy if he ever found out what they were about to do, but if it worked, it would be worth it! After letting John in on the plan, Sam and Gabriel returned to the car. By the looks of things Dean and Cas hadn't exchanged more than two words since they'd left.

They resumed the journey in silence, but about twenty minutes later, Sam put their plan into action. "Dad, I'm tired," he groaned, forcing a yawn. "When are we next stopping?"

"Why don't we book into a hotel?" Gabriel picked up where Sam left off with an innocent expression which, if Dean or Cas had seen it, would probably have given the game away. Luckily, they were too busy ignoring each other to pay attention to anyone else.

"Good idea, we'll stay in a hotel." John said. His cheerful tone aroused Dean's suspicions, but he decided that his father was pleased to have them back. It would probably wear off in a few hours and John would turn back into his normal, grumpy self. It wasn't long before they pulled up outside a large building in the middle of a densely populated town.

"The Holiday Inn?" read Sam doubtfully. "Are you sure this is the right place for... You know."

"Shut up Sammy, this joint looks classy," Dean patted him on the shoulder. "See the menu outside? All you can eat breakfast special." 

"For once, I agree with Dean-o." Gabriel replied. "Trust me, this hotel looks perfect."

Once they had parked the car, they headed over to the hotel. Cas kept quite a distance away from Dean (And since when had those to begun to pay attention to personal space? Maybe this was going to be more difficult than Sam thought.) The group traipsed into the lobby and John paid for three rooms, two with twin beds and a king size one for himself.

"Would you guys mind waiting here while I use the rest room?" he asked and rapidly left, followed by Sam and Gabe. At first they headed for the men's room, but once Dean and Cas were out of sight, they doubled back on themselves and were soon at the reception desk by the hotel's entrance.

"Wait!" Gabriel said suddenly, tapping Sam on the arm. "What if Cas and Dean ask the receptionist where we are? She'll say she saw us leave."

"I didn't think of that," Sam replied. "Hey, where's dad?"

They both turned around to find him chatting to the receptionist, one arm leaning casually on the desk. When he came back to them, it was with a smug expression and a piece of paper which may or may not have had a phone number written on it. "She's in on the plan," he said in a very self-satisfied manner. "She says that if Dean and Cas go by the desk, she won't tell them anything."

"Thanks dad." Sam grinned. "If this doesn't work, nothing will."

They left the hotel quickly and got back into the car, driving down the street until the Holiday Inn was just a spot in the distance. Maybe it wasn't very responsible to leave the two teenagers alone, thought John, feeling slightly guilty, but they were both very responsible. And used to being left alone. He didn't doubt that the two boys would be okay, and what's more, forget their quarrel.

"Where are we going to sleep?" asked Gabriel as they slowed down near the end of the street.

"I saw a place on the way," replied John. "It's in the same road as Dean and Cas, so we won't be too far away from them if anything happens." Once the car stopped, Sam and Gabriel got out and stood, staring up at their hotel in awe. It was a much more glamorous place than the one they had just visited and the lobby was massive, with several chandeliers and a sign pointing to an indoor pool.

"I kinda' wish Dean was here." Sam said, looking upset.

"Cheer up, Sammy," replied Gabriel, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Those two need some alone time to sort out whatever it is that they've been fighting about. They've been acting strange around each other since Christmas."

"Do you really think this is going to work?" asked Sam hopefully.

"Sure it is. Have you still got your trunk? Good! I'll race you to the pool!" Gabriel set off at a slow jog and Sam easily caught up to him. John smiled as the two boys ran off into the hotel, looking happier than he had seen them all day.

However, things were not going so well back at the Holiday Inn. Castiel was absorbed in his copy of 'Paradise Lost' while Dean's iPod was rapidly losing charge. It was about fifteen minutes after the others had left the building when the iPod finally gave up and Dean looked up in confusion.

"Where is everyone?" he asked his friend, seeming to have forgotten his vow of silence. "They've been in there for ages."

"I'll go and see if they're finished." Cas replied. Dean picked up his book while he was gone, but quickly put it back where he'd found it. A poem about angels was bad enough, but the thing didn't even seem to be written in the English language. Cas was taking an extraordinarily long time, so he decided to go and see the receptionist while he waited.

"Do the rooms here have plug sockets?" he asked her as soon as the desk came into view.

The woman behind it smiled wickedly for some reason. "For the price you're paying, you'll be lucky to get a bed in this dump."

"Great." Dean sighed and made his way back to the sofa, where Cas was waiting. Alone.

"They're gone," he said, a flicker of worry visible on his usually impassive face.

"What?" asked Dean. "Dude, they must be there. Are you sure you were looking in the right place?"

Cas just stared at him with raised eyebrows and a scowl and he couldn't help smiling at the way that his friend always reacted to being asked questions that he thought were pointless. "I waited by the sinks until all the cubicles were empty. Gabriel, Sam and your dad were nowhere to be seen."

"I bet everyone in the toilets appreciated your vigil." Dean said with raised eyebrows. Cas didn't seem to understand.

"They didn't look very appreciative," he replied, deadpan. "One man even steered his son away from me." Dean laughed at this and Castiel smiled hesitantly. He had always enjoyed making his friend laugh, even if he wasn't quite sure why what he said was so hilarious.

"Come on." Dean said suddenly, as an idea struck him. "We can ask that receptionist by the door if she's seen them. Her desk is by the exit, so she can tell us if they're still in the hotel or not." However, they had no luck at the desk. The receptionist said that she hadn't seen anyone leave since that morning.

"They must have gone to our hotel room." Dean guessed: "Look, they've taken one of the room keys." Sure enough, there was one key on the coffee table next to their trunks and other suitcases.

"The one we have is number... eight hundred and two," read Cas doubtfully. He couldn't quite see the others going up to their rooms without them. Nevertheless, it seemed like their only choice was to search for them there. "Do you think the eight means the rooms are on the eighth floor?"

"Let's go and find out." Dean said, leading the way to a massive flight of stairs which seemed to stretch on forever. Even though they were finally speaking again, an awkward silence still hung in the air between them and both boys breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the eighth floor.

"I think their room is eight hundred and one." Cas guessed. He knocked on the door before Dean's interjection - "No, Cas, wait!" - could reach him. A rustling sound arose from behind the door and a man wrapped in a duvet warily peeked outside.

There was an awkward silence.

"That's the wrong door." Dean said weakly.

Cas just glared at him. "I know that now."

The man in the duvet slammed the door with a pronounced sigh and Cas stared in confusion at the closed door while his friend bent double with laughter. He couldn't help smiling too when he saw the way that Dean's eyes lit up with laughter. 

"Right, I'm pretty sure that their room is eight hundred and three." Dean said, brandishing their key. "That's the room directly opposite ours." However, they got no response knocking on the door of the other room and were forced to conclude that it was empty.

Dean placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder and they continued down the corridor. "We need to check all of the doors on this floor." Cas said gravely. "They can't have left without us." Over the course of the next half hour, the two boys met an interesting variety of people staying at the hotel, from men and women on business trips to couples who were none too pleased at being interrupted in the middle of their evening. But John, Sam and Gabriel were nowhere to be found.

"What now?" asked Dean, a note of desperation creeping into his voice. "Sam and dad would never leave us behind, and I can't imagine that Gabriel would just go without telling you. Something must have happened to them."

"We should go to the room that we have the key for."

Unfortunately, they were in for a shock. The door to room 802 opened to reveal a double bed. Dean swore under his breath, gingerly walking inside the tiny room as if he was hoping to find another bed tucked behind the King size double.

"I could sleep in the bath..." Cas suggested in desperation, but when they looked inside the bathroom, there was no bath, only a rickety, old shower.

"Look, we can put up with this for one night," Dean said with a new determination. "We used to share a bed all the time. It'll be fine." He sounded like he was convincing himself rather than Cas. "So, do you want to use this thing?" He pointed at the shower. It looked like it would fall to the floor if even a drop of water passed through it.

"No thanks," Cas replied. "I had one this morning."

"Don't wait up, dear," Dean said with a wicked smile, ducking into the bathroom just in time to avoid the shoe hurtling towards his head.

Cas rapidly changed into his black pants and a white shirt, then pulled a book out of his bag and settled down in the bed. It was easily big enough for them both to sleep comfortably without touching each other, but he still moved as far over to one side as it as possible to get without falling off. The light provided by the flickering lamp on the table beside him was negligible but at least it lasted until Dean had finished in the shower and reappeared with a towel slung around his waist. Cas turned away and concentrated on his book while Dean quickly changed and jumped into bed beside him. Fortunately, it was large enough for them both to lay down without touching each other.

Once the curtains were closed and the lamp had been turned off, Cas closed his eyes and was almost asleep when two words came drifting over to him from the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry." Dean's voice sounded full of regret and self-loathing and he resisted the urge to move closer and comfort him.

"What for?" he asked. "Our falling out? It wasn't a big deal, all you did was skip one potions lesson. I overreacted."

"Stop it, Cas," Dean replied. He didn't sound angry, just tired. "That presentation was important to you, I knew that and I skipped it anyway. Just because Lisa asked me. I've been ignoring you all year because she wants me to hang out with her friends all the time. I'm sorry."

Cas didn't know what to say, so he settled for placing a hand gently on Dean's shoulder. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but his skin was warm and soft. After a while, he reluctantly withdrew and slid his hand back along the sheets. He didn't want to make the bed sharing thing any more awkward than it already was, but luckily Dean had taken the gesture as one of friendship and nothing more.

"I'm so lucky to have a friend like you," Dean said sleepily. "You mean more to me than any girl, you know that Cas? You're family, like Sam and dad, and family is forever." A few seconds later, Dean's breathing leveled and he was asleep. Cas wasn't far behind.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

The next morning, Dean woke up first. The bed was warm and white light was filtering through the thin curtains. He shifted slightly and found that the reason why he was so warm was that he was on Castiel's side of the bed. He carefully moved his arm from Cas's waist and his head from his friend's shoulder. Cas stirred slightly, but didn't show any signs of waking up. He slid carefully out of bed and glanced back fondly at the sleeping form under the covers. Then he made his way to the bathroom and stepped into the shower.

It was only a few minutes later that Cas woke up to somebody banging on the door of hotel room. He threw on a jumper and answered the door, smiling at the sound of Dean singing in a low voice, just audible over the sound of the shower.

"Surprise!" Gabriel cried, jumping into the room to hug him. Cas stood in shock as he caught sight of John and Sam in the hallway behind his brother.

"Where were you?" he asked, staring at Gabriel until he stepped back into the hallway, looking guilty.

"We were just giving you guys some alone time," his brother replied, trying to look innocent. "And it looks like the plan worked. I haven't seen you looking this happy for ages." Cas grinned despite himself and moved aside to let everyone into the hotel room. He was imagining Dean's face when he found out that the whole thing had been a trick and sure enough, he was not happy when he found out. 

The Impala was soon en route to John's cottage. Sam was sitting by the window, smiling softly to himself and reading while next to him, planned their revenge. Gabriel was in the front seat, scattering candy wrapper confetti over everyone and even though his beloved car was covered in tiny, sticky bits of paper, John couldn't bring himself to tell him to stop.

Even though it had a bit of a rocky start and contrary to everyone's expectations, it turned out to be the best vacation that any of them had ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! I know that it's been a while (again) but I give you my solemn promise that this story will be finished. I have some great ideas for the next couple of chapters!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and a special thank you to Anna, purgatorynightmares and witchglow for the lovely reviews and to the many people who gave kudos after I posted the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it!


	12. Chapter 12

The day when Castiel finally broke came on a dark evening at the beginning of February. It was a particularly stormy, unending winter and he had spent the majority of in the Hufflepuff common room due to the library's malfunctioning heating system. It was so cold in there that icicles were beginning to form on the highest shelves. Anyway, it wasn't like the common room was uninviting: he had a pile of books and a space on one of the most comfortable sofas by the fire. The only problem with being there was the company. There were many other Hufflepuff students and the cozy fire-lit room was conducive to an especially romantic atmosphere.

It was one couple in particular that was making him feel uncomfortable, although the occasional pitying glances from other students didn't help either. So what if he had arrived at sixteen years old without ever having kissed anyone? It didn't bother him in the least. After all, there was only one person who he wanted to kiss and that person was currently dating a girl named Cassie Robinson, a name he was convinced was the universe's way of mocking him. Trying desperately to concentrate on his book, he couldn't help glancing over at Dean and Cassie over in the corner of the room.

At the start of their fifth year at Hogwarts, Dean had broken up with Lisa and after a few weeks, she was replaced by the shy, Hufflepuff Cassie. Dean's new girlfriend was much nicer to Cas, which was why he felt so guilty every time he wished they would break up. It didn't matter how nice Cassie was, every time he caught sight of her kissing Dean, he couldn't help but wish she would go away. 

"What are you reading, Clarence?" That was Meg's voice, and just when he thought the night couldn't get any worse. He turned his head to see her sitting beside him on the sofa. 

"It's called American Gods." Cas replied unwillingly. Meg could be so unbearable. She was an occasional visitor to Hufflepuff, one of the few Slytherin girls who risked the wrath of the others by mixing with the students of other houses. It wasn't that he didn't like her: he did, but she had been attempting to flirt with him for months without receiving any of the signs that should have told her that he wasn't interested.

"Fascinating," she replied, lengthening every syllable so that the word seemed like a long sentence in itself. "What's it about?"

"Religion and faith in Capitalist societies. What do you want, Meg?"

Unsurprisingly, she ignored his question. "Sounds like a real page-turner, Clarence. Any good sex scenes?"

"It is not a romantic novel." Cas replied, glaring back at her. "And I've told you, my name is Castiel."

"I know, I know," she pouted and he couldn't help smiling. There was something about Meg that set her apart from the other Slytherin girls. He wouldn't mind having her as a friend, but she needed to understand that a relationship with him was out of the question.

Meanwhile, Meg was moving closer to him and he realised with a jolt that she was going to try to kiss him. Her shampoo smelt a little like Dean's. Perhaps he could pretend... But no. He could never deceive anyone like that.

"Listen," he said, a little too loudly. Suddenly, everyone in the common room was looking their way, some more interestedly than others. Becky, a first year who Cas barely knew, was glaring at him from across the room, while other students were taking out mobile phones. He hoped they weren't planning to record anything, because this certainly wasn't going to be his first kiss.

"I'm sorry, but-" Cas began quietly, but he was cut off by the arrival of Gabriel and Anna. They practically ran into the room and then shuffled to the back. Dean had abandoned his girlfriend by this time and was looking around in confusion, and Cas knew that he had to stop this before it got out of hand. He turned back to Meg and smiled weakly. "I'm really sorry. I can't."

"It's okay, Clarence," she replied loudly. If the attention of everyone in the room wasn't focused on them before, it certainly was now. "I know you're shy and you've never done this before. Truthfully, I find it kinda' hot." She whispered this last part into his ear, a fact for which he was grateful since it meant that none of his classmates would hear it.

There was no other way, he was just going to have to tell her. He took a deep breath and fixed her with his most serious expression. "Meg, I'm not in love with you, I'm sorry."

"We don't have to be in love!" It wasn't only Meg that started laughing at this point, several other students unsuccessfully tried to smother their laughter. Even Dean was smiling as she continued: "look, it's just one kiss. So unless you're 'in love with' some other girl..."

"I'm not in love with any girl." Cas shot back, before he'd even realised what he was saying. There was a confused silence and he realised that the only way he was going to stop these awkward situations from occurring was by telling everyone the truth. He gathered his thoughts and continued, having made his decision. "I'm gay."

More silence followed. He didn't have to look at Meg to know that she was shocked, blood rushing to her cheeks with embarrassment and guilt. He didn't have to look at Gabriel or Anna to know that they were pitying him, or at the faces of the other students to know that they were equally mortified and suddenly desperate to leave the room. He could only see Dean's face and its strange, fleeting expression which could be disapproval.

After that, he couldn't stay in the common room. He walked out calmly and descended the nearest staircase as if in a trance. That wasn't exactly the way he had planned to come out to his friends and family, and even the people who he knew would support him would ask why he hadn't told them sooner. It wasn't like he'd just figured out his sexuality.

He finally found himself outside the doors to the library, so he went inside and headed straight for his usual seat. It was cold, but not unbearably so and definitely better than facing the interrogation that awaited him back in the common room. Once he was alone and surrounded by tall bookshelves, he put his head in his hands and stayed where he was for a while.

"Cas?" It was only minutes later when Dean's voice echoed though the library. His footsteps stopped just outside the bookshelves which his friend had charmed to stay together to keep everyone away. "Please let me in."

He didn't answer, even though Dean's worried tone was making him feel even more guilty than before. There were hundreds of times when he could have told his best friend the truth about his sexuality in the last year, but every time he had backed down and waited for the perfect moment. Now it was too late.

"If you don't undo the spell on those bookcases right now, I'm going to climb over them," Dean threatened, his voice muffled by the thick wooden shelves separating them. "And you know how that turned out last time." Cas only realised that he was being serious when he heard the thudding sound of feet on wood. He picked up his wand and waved it reluctantly.

Dean almost fell into the alcove, but quickly regained his balance. His arms were around Cas in seconds. "I'm so sorry," he kept saying, as if it was his fault. Cas didn't feel like he had any energy left, so he stayed where he was. He hated the way that he always relaxed into Dean's touch and calmed down at the sound of his voice: it wasn't logical.

"I should have told you before," said Cas quickly, before his friend could say anything else. "I should have told Meg too, and Hannah at the Yule Ball. They're all going to hate me."

"Nobody hates you." Dean replied soothingly. "They all feel really bad about embarrassing you like that. Meg's planning to buy you chocolates as an apology and I've told everyone in the common room to give you some space for the rest of today."

"Thanks." Cas couldn't help smiling, although inside he was berating himself for his incapacity to leave Dean's embrace. He finally managed to sit up on his chair and Dean took a seat on the table in front of him. He had never really doubted that his friend wouldn't accept him for who he was, but it was still reassuring to know that nothing had changed between them.

"If you don't mind my asking," Dean said, a little more awkwardly now that they were apart, "when did you find out that you liked guys. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It was the Yule Ball," responded Cas, trying to ignore the way that his friend stiffened when he realised that Cas had been keeping this secret for the best part of a year. "Remember, I went with Hannah? I just looked around the room when I was there and I thought... I can't explain it."

"You mean you were attracted to the guys in dress robes?" Dean grinned, raising his eyebrows. "Hey, this is good news, buddy. Now you won't have to pretend to be interested in the girls we set you up with."

"Yes," Cas replied, feeling slightly more optimistic. "I guess that is good news. We'd better leave now though. If Crowley finds you in the library after curfew, I doubt either of us will get out alive."

"Good point." Dean peered furtively around the corner of the nearest bookshelf. "Okay, the coast is clear." He put a finger to his lips and they crept out of the library.

They returned to the Hufflepuff dormitory without incident, but Dean stopped for a moment outside his room. "I just thought of something!" he said, looking genuinely happy. "We can double date now, just tell me your type and I'll fix you up with someone. Then you can bring a date to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day with me and Cassie! Won't that be awesome!"

Yeah, awesome, Cas thought bitterly, resisting the temptation to tell the truth about 'his type'. Taller than him, with lighter brown hair, green eyes and freckles. He doubted that there was anyone out there that he would ever feel as strongly for as Dean Winchester and the worst part was that Dean could never know. That would destroy their friendship forever.

As he laid down in bed that night, Castiel was completely unaware of the events that were to come in the next year of his life. It wasn't long before his world would shift and his relationship with his best friend would be forever changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This had to happen at some point, not long to go now until the end... I hope you've enjoyed the story so far! :D
> 
> As ever, thank you to all readers for kudos, feedback etc. I love you all!


	13. The Last Chapter

The sun was high in the cloudless, blue sky, the still waters of the lake sparkled and the trees in the field swayed in the cool breeze. The grounds of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry were full of happy students who had flocked outside to study or sunbathe, depending on how seriously they were taking the coming exams.

Week-ends in summer were the best, even the professors thought so. They had set two days worth of revision exercises instead of homework and almost everyone was taking advantage of a temporary lull in the stressful last weeks of term.

Gabriel had always looked forward to leaving school, but now that the time had come, he found that he was really going to miss it. There were only a few weeks left of normality before the NEWTs and graduation, then he'd be leaving his family behind and venturing out on his own. It was a scary thought, especially since he still had no idea what job he wanted to do.

Luckily, it was a beautiful day outside and the perfect time for some sunbathing he thought as he descended the stairs towards the ground floor. He was almost there when he caught sight of Anna and Balthazar coming into the castle through the massive double doors which led out to the lake. Balthazar looked sheepish as his older cousin dragged him into the shady entrance hall by the ear.

"Where are you going?" he asked, taking pity on Balthazar and pointing to the wide open doors as he continued: "The fun is that way!"

"We'll be in the library if you need us," Anna replied frostily."Uriel wants my help to revise some theory work. He's failing practically every subject."

"Poor Uriel," said Gabriel. He couldn't have sounded less interested and Anna scowled at him. "Where does Balthazar fit into your plans? In case you haven't noticed, the entire school is out enjoying the sunshine, you should both come down to the lake with me. Dean told me he's got something planned and you haven't seen little Cassie in ages, have you Anna? He misses you."

"I just came from the lake, thank you," Anna replied, just as firmly. "And as for Balthazar, he's had quite enough time outside today and he'll benefit just as much as Uriel from my Herbology tuition. Anyway, you're the one who should be in the library, you have your NEWTs in a few weeks in case you've forgotten."

Gabriel took a step back, thinking that if he was any younger, Anna would certainly have caught him by the ear and dragged him to the library. "Come and see us when you have a break," he replied hastily and took off outside. Balthazar made to follow him, but Anna grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs, saying something about grades.

Gabriel smirked as he stepped outside into the sunlight. It didn't take him long to find Cas in the field: their group was gathered under a group of trees right by the water. Sam was playing wizard chess on a portable board with some of his third year friends and he waved when Gabriel passed by, shouting "I'm winning!"

"Well done Sasquatch," Gabriel grinned back. "I'll give you a match later."

Castiel was sitting nearby, cross legged against the trunk of a tree and reading a thick OWL textbooks. Next to him, Dean was flicking blades of grass at his friend and looking very bored. He jumped up as soon as he saw Gabriel and ran over to him. "Can you get Cas to stop reading?" he asked petulantly. "He's ignoring me."

"Don't you have any girls to bother?" Gabriel shot back. None of them had forgotten the episode last summer, when Dean had spent every waking moment with Lisa. They had broken up at the beginning of their fifth year at Hogwarts and everything seemed to be back to normal between Cas and Dean, but Gabriel still worried that it would happen again. Dean just glared at him.

"Hello Gabriel. Before you try anything you should know that I have an important project to do for my Ancient Runes class this weekend and I cannot be distracted." Cas said, without looking up from his book. "And Dean, I suggest that you do some more work on your Potions, you still haven't completed the optional work that Crowley set."

"The key word there is optional. We studied all day yesterday." Dean replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure Gabriel has been working for days too. We all deserve some time off." Castiel continued to read. Gabriel made a silent gesture to Dean and they both moved away towards the lake.

"Why don't we make him take a break?" Gabriel smiled wickedly. "We'd be doing him a favor really. That much studying can't be good for his health."

"I hear you," Dean replied, "I'll distract him while you get the book." Just a few seconds later, he had jumped onto Cas, taking him by surprise. The textbook flew through the air and Gabriel caught it gracefully. He ran down the edge of the lake with a victorious whoop and glanced back to see his brother holding his own against Dean as they rolled around in the long grass.

It wasn't long before Dean was found himself pinned to the ground by his friend's strong hands. Cas smirked, holding the position for just a moment longer than was necessary, before racing off after Gabriel.

"Give that to me!" Cas shouted as soon as he was within earshot of his older brother. Although he was just as tall and slightly faster than Gabriel, his reflexes weren't quite as quick and the book remained just out of reach. Sam abandoned his chess game and ran over to help, jumping on Gabriel and helping Cas tackle him to the ground.

It seemed to happen in slow motion: one minute the book was firmly in Gabriel's hands and the next it was flying through the air. They all looked at each other in silence as Castiel's textbook disappeared into the lake.

"Oops," Gabriel said guiltily, conscious of several pairs of eyes focused accusingly on him. "Sorry, bro."

"I can't believe you just did that," breathed Sam. The last of the bubbles had disappeared and the only signs of the book's presence in the water were a few ripples spreading across the surface.

"Hey, you were the one who jumped on me." Gabriel replied angrily. "This is your fault too." Looking around, he saw Cas staring at the spot where his textbook had vanished beneath the water with stormy blue eyes and shivered. Cas had inherited the Milton family temper and it was only a matter of time before he exploded. Dean shared a contrite look with Gabriel, then gingerly approached his friend.

"I'm sorry." Dean said gravely, resting a hand of Cas's shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault," Cas replied at length, turning to stare at his older brother. "It was Gabriel's." This was delivered in a monosyllabic, flat tone, which made even the onlookers who had gathered around their group take several steps backwards.

"Um, I'm going to- You know," Gabriel said rapidly, starting to back away in the direction of the castle. Maybe Cas would be more forgiving in a few days, once he'd found a replacement Ancient Runes textbook. However, he wasn't allowed to get away that easily. Sam was the first to signal his brother and Dean grabbed Cas to join them. Together, they pounced on Gabriel and sent him flailing backwards into the lake. There was a huge splash and a moment later, he resurfaced with what looked like a strand of seaweed hanging over his eyes.

Once the crowd of spectators had dissipated and Gabriel had stalked off back to the castle, Cas doubled up with laughter, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"I know," Dean grinned, "He so deserved that. Does it make up for the loss of your book?"

"Actually, I haven't lost my textbook," he replied, taking out his wand and pointing it at the lake. Ripples appeared in the water, then a book shot up through the air and flew towards them; Cas caught it with one hand. "I did a waterproofing spell on all my books at the start of the year."

"Seriously?" asked Dean. "We threw him in the lake for no reason?"

"He'll be back in the castle by now, there's no way he'll come back out here," Cas said, smirking as he returned the book to his bag, where it belonged. "I imagine he'll be so bored, he might actually do some studying."

"You might be right." Dean said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "You know, you're just as talented as he is at pranking people."

"You're all lucky I'm so mature," replied Cas, slipping his book back into his bag.

Sam glanced over at his brother and wasn't surprised to see him participating in one of his frequent staring contests with Cas. They both looked so comfortable in each others presence and Sam felt grateful that Dean had such a close friend.

"I should tell Gabriel that you managed to recover your textbook," Sam said as he made his way over to them. "He was muttering something about buying you a new one, and you know how much that would cost him."

"Go ahead," Cas replied, without breaking his eye contact with Dean. Sam couldn't help noticing that Cas reserved his widest smiles for his brother, the most anyone else got was a smirk or a shy half-smile.

The sun was beginning to set by the time Sam said goodbye to the others and ran back inside. Behind him, most of the students were still sitting in groups, enjoying the last of the sunlight. When Dean and Cas finally made their way back inside, the sky was a streaky mixture of pink and orange, soft light subtly illuminating the castles' doors.

Dean glanced at his best friend as he opened the door, and for a moment, he couldn't look away. Light seemed to concentrate somehow around Cas's face and shine out from his deep blue eyes, for a moment, just one moment, Dean was tempted to move closer to him. It would be so easy to brush his hand over Castiel's cheek and down to his smooth pink lips- Then he turned away and opened the door.

The moment was gone. They walked towards the closest set of stairs and began to climb, Dean's slightly elevated pulse and ruddy cheeks the only signs that he had almost done something he would never be able to take back. There were some things he could never risk, like their friendship, and other things he could never properly acknowledge about himself, like the way that a guy could make him feel just as flustered as any girl could. The next day, he put the whole incident down to exam stress and by the end of the week, he'd forgotten about it entirely.

It was ironic that if he had confessed his feelings to Cas there and then, he would have saved them both a great deal of heartache and suffering, but for now, as the sun disappeared beneath the lake for the night, all was quiet and the future felt infinitely far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last part of 'Dean Winchester and the Guardian Angel', but don't panic, the next installment is where the Destiel happens. It will be a separate story in my Hogwarts AU tag, so check back soon for that. I hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying writing it!
> 
> On an unrelated note, thank you so much for 100 kudos and so many lovely comments. It really means the world to me :D


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